Chapter 293 Plum Rain (5)
Looking at Kiyono Rin, Kujo Miki gave a sarcastic smile.
"It looks like the game is about to start." Watanabe Toru hung up the phone, "Want to go watch it?"
After a discussion, everyone realized that the people from the wind band came here just for this purpose, so they immediately packed up their things and set off for the Jingu Stadium.
"We're going to cheer for our school's students too," said Aona Koizumi on behalf of the three teachers and Asuka Mai.
"Mr. Koizumi," Mrs. Kujo smiled youthfully, "Would you like to go see the irises with us? Mr. Tetsu said that irises are most beautiful in this season."
"I..." Koizumi Aona glanced at Kujo Miki and smiled gently, "Forget it, I've already promised Kazuki-san to go watch the game together."
"What a shame." Mrs. Kujo tilted her head regretfully, "See you next time, Mr. Koizumi, Mai-chan."
"See you next time, Maki-san!" Koizumi Aona bowed slightly.
"...Yeah." Asu Mai nodded slightly.
Mrs. Kujo stood up, walked to Kiyono Rin, and put her arm around her shoulders:
"Rin-chan will go with us, right?"
"Aunt Maki, please don't come close to me." Qingno Rin pushed her away.
"Aunt Maki?" Koizumi Aina and others who were packing up drink bottles, lunch boxes, and cakes looked over.
"Don't you know?" Kujo Maki said, "Actually, in terms of seniority, Miki and I are older than Rin."
"Let me introduce you again," Toru Watanabe seized the opportunity, "This is Miki's mother, not her sister."
No one reacted and looked at Toru Watanabe and Mrs. Kujo with suspicion.
"I'm serious," added Toru Watanabe.
"Really?" Akiko asked cautiously.
"Of course I would make such a joke?"
"Hey——" A girl's exclamation was heard on the lawn, attracting the attention of tourists.
“Is this true?!”
"Kujo-san's mother is so young!"
"She really looks just like my sister!"
"Ah!" Koizumi Aina came back to her senses and bowed quickly, "Hello, nice to meet you. I'm Koizumi Aina, the teacher of Kujo Miki!"
"Sorry, it's a rare opportunity for us to go out and play, and I'm in a very good mood, so I wanted to tease Watanabe-kun and my daughter." Mrs. Kujo smiled gently.
Just the way she smiled changed, and she went from a young girl of 19** to an aristocratic young woman of 20**.
Everyone immediately became reserved.
Having her identity exposed, Kujo Maki was no longer interested in communicating with them. She turned around, took her daughter's and Kiyono Rin's arms, and headed towards the iris field.
"Xiao Lin, when you came today, I asked Watanabe-kun to choose between me and Miki, and he chose me."
"lie."
"Meiji, you tell her!"
"Can you please stop hugging me? It's so hot."
"Do you dislike your mother?"
"I dislike Kiyono-san."
"Ah, that's me too."
"You two have such a good understanding, you actually have a very good relationship!"
"No."
During this conversation between the three, Toru Watanabe said to Asuka Mai and Koizumi Aona, "I'm sorry."
"Why do you want to apologize?" Koizumi Aona looked at him puzzled.
"My attitude just now..."
"It's okay," Koizumi Aona smiled and said nonchalantly, "You were supposed to accompany Meiji today, and she is... Anyway, Watanabe, the teacher won't blame you for doing this!"
"Yeah." Asu Mai nodded in agreement, "As long as I belong to Toru, I don't care about anything else."
Watanabe Toru looked at the two of them and said, "Is this really possible?"
"It's impossible to say I don't care." Koizumi Aona smiled, "But, Watanabe, you're in a difficult situation, right? Only when we care about each other and understand each other, can we be happy in life, right?"
"..." Watanabe Toru was speechless.
Even though he distanced himself from them and behaved politely in front of Meiji, they still understood him, no, they still indulged him.
"Besides," Koizumi Aonai said with some anticipation and shyness, "Didn't you promise me that you would take me out to play after the rainy season?"
"I'm going too." Asu Mai stared at Koizumi Aona.
"Eh? This..."
"I'm going too." Asu Mai stared at Koizumi Aona.
"Mai-san, um, you can be alone with..."
"I'm going too." Asu Mai stared at Koizumi Aona.
Koizumi Aona looked at Watanabe Toru, not knowing what to do. Watanabe Toru looked at the two of them and smiled: "Teacher, you decide. Goodbye."
"Watanabe, I..."
"I'm going too." Asu Mai stared at Koizumi Aona.
“…”
…
Watanabe Toru caught up with the three people, and Kiyono Rin was trying to pull his arm back from Mrs. Kujo's grasp: "Watanabe-san, help me."
"I can't help you." Watanabe Toru put his hands in his pockets and walked lightly, "I don't want to be entangled."
"Come here." Miki Kujo turned her delicate face and ordered.
"oh."
Miki Kujo hooked her other arm around Toru Watanabe's arm.
The four of them stood side by side, arm in arm, under the gaze of passing tourists. Most people might feel ashamed, but the four of them did not care about the eyes of the world.
In the waterlogged flower fields, calamus look like daffodils, only the color is different.
White, pink, lavender, dark purple and other colors compete with each other in beauty and extend deep into the forest.
There are small signs erected at the roots of the calamus, with the name of the calamus variety written on them, such as "Universe" and "Cloud Clothes".
In front of the flower field, there are photographers and painters sketching; in the flower field, flower farmers are taking care of the flowers.
Toru Watanabe would like to look at the photographer's lens and the painter's canvas to see what kind of scenery is depicted on them.
"The irises are really beautiful during the rainy season. Let's go to Ueno to see the lotus flowers later." Mrs. Kujo looked at the three of them.
"How about changing it to next week?" Watanabe Toru said, "Look at one flower a day, and you can have a good mood twice."
Mrs. Kujo smiled and stared at Toru Watanabe.
Watanabe Toru understood what she meant.
"But it's boring to go back so early," he said. "We're out for a while, why don't we go to Yoyogi Park or go shopping on Takeshita Street?"
"That's a good suggestion!" Mrs. Kujo nodded with satisfaction to her son-in-law, "Let's go, Xiaolin, Miki."
"Sorry, I have to go back." Qingye Rin looked tired.
"Hmm? Are you tired?" Mrs. Kujo asked with concern.
"Well, I haven't walked for so long in a long time."
Toru Watanabe looked at Kiyono Rin and had not given her the drugged drink recently because he had been paying attention to the distance between them.
Besides, if you want to strengthen your body, you need to combine it with long-term regular exercise.
Qingye Rin's exercise time is limited to when she is with him. It is better to expect her to meet a puppy on the road and chase her around than to expect her to go back and exercise on her own.
I don’t know if dogs can resist her charm, but cats probably can’t.
As he was thinking, Qingye Rin in his sight suddenly smiled, like a lotus flower in water quietly blooming.
Watanabe Toru turned his eyes away from her as if nothing had happened.
"If Rin-chan wants to go back, then I can only stay with Toru-kun and Miki," Kujo Maki sighed.
"I have a suggestion," Watanabe Toru understood that this was a threat from Mrs. Kujo, "Kiyono-san, how about going to Jingu Stadium to watch the game? All you have to do is sit there."
"Do you want to go on stage?" asked Qingye Rin.
"Me? Of course not."
"I'm not interested in baseball, and those who are interested don't play, so why should they sit there?"
“…”
"Rin-chan," Mrs. Kujo couldn't help but laugh, "Even if it's a war, there's no need to be so blunt."
"If there were no time limit and it wasn't for the Seino family, I would take my time, but no matter what, I will be the winner in the end, there is no doubt about that."
"A loser can still be so confident. Even as an enemy, I admire your tenacity." Miki Kujo crossed her arms, tapping her arms comfortably with her fingers, with a scornful smile on her lips.
"I'm not afraid of losing. I admit failure, but I will never lose forever." Qingye Rin said coldly.
"On the contrary, I am afraid of losing and will not admit failure, but I will never lose."
Mrs. Kujo looked at her daughter and Kiyono Rin, nodded with great interest, and then suddenly seemed to remember something and said to the invisible Watanabe Toru:
"Watanabe-kun, could you please come on stage? I want to spend more time with Rin-chan."
"I..." Mrs. Kujo's eyes were filled with a smile that could not be refused, so Watanabe Toru changed the subject: "I 'll try, but there's nothing I can do if it doesn't work."
"Then let's go watch a baseball game!" Mrs. Kujo took the arms of the two young ladies again. "The last time I watched a game was in 19**. I was only 15 years old that year, a young girl in a sailor suit, younger than all of you. By the way, Watanabe-kun, I will cheer for you and be your first baseball fan."
"……Thanks."
The four left Meiji Jingu Shrine and took a car to Jingu Stadium.
Last summer, the three of them watched fireworks at the stadium while filming "400 km from Iwate Prefecture to Tokyo".
At the entrance to the stadium, it says "104th National High School Baseball Championship Tokyo Tournament".
The four of us arrived late because we wanted to see the irises, so the ticket office was empty and the tickets were 800 yen per person.
Walking further in, there was no one in the shop selling snacks and food, only the store clerks staring at the live broadcast on the wall.
The four of them walked into the auditorium. The audience was sparsely populated and anyone could sit anywhere.
The entire court was blocked by the net, and on the large display screen, the game was in the first half of the second sentence.
Watanabe Toru looked at the field and found the rest area where Kamikawa High School was located. He pointed there and said:
"You sit on it."
Miki Kujo looked over and saw the cheerleading team of Kamikawa High School there, singing the school song in unison and cheering for them.
"No, it's too noisy." She stood still in the infield position - directly opposite the pitcher.
"Don't talk nonsense!" Watanabe Toru pulled her over there, "I might be able to play in a while, you guys sit there, even if I'm on the court, I can protect you the first time."
"Are you ordering me?" Although she said that, Kujo Miki still let him pull her.
"It's not an order, it's a request."
Looking at the backs of the two, Mrs. Kujo said to Qingye Rin: "The situation seems to be unfavorable to you, Xiaolin."
"Watanabe-kun loves me more than Miki. Tell me, who is he trying to protect by asking us to sit there?" Without waiting for Mrs. Kujo to answer, Kiyono Rin walked towards the direction where Watanabe Toru and the other man were going.
"Should we arrange an assassination?" Mrs. Kujo whispered as she looked at the backs of the three men.
After greeting Koizumi Aona and others who were sitting here, Watanabe Toru took off his coat and put it on Kujo Miki's chair.
"I'll go down and ask if I can go on stage. Please don't leave here." He asked again and again before leaving the audience.
"Where is Watanabe-kun going?" Koizumi Aona asked subconsciously.
"For the sake of Kiyono Rin to compete." Kujo Miki sneered.
Koizumi Aona wanted to say something, but suddenly realized that the three of them were sitting together at the moment, and the inexplicable atmosphere made her unable to speak.
But... for the competition with Kiyono Rin?
Is this going to become four people?
Koizumi Aonai was vaguely worried, but Kiyono Rin didn't care. What if the number increased in the future?
Speaking of Kiyono Rin, she remembered calling her "Sister" and staring at her profile ten years ago.
“…”
…
Toru Watanabe entered the stadium using his identity as a member of the baseball club, looked back at the audience seats, confirmed the shortest route to the three of them, and then walked into Kamikawa's rest area.
When Kunijiro Xiu saw him, he immediately waved: "Come over..."
"Watanabe-kun!" The female baseball manager's voice drowned out Kunii Osamu.
She ran up to him holding a folder in her arms: "Watanabe-kun, why are you here? Come and sit down!"
"Thank you, Kobayashi. I'm looking for Kunii." Watanabe Toru did not sit in the front row that she gave up, but sat next to Kunii Osamu in the second row.
"Kunii, can I play later?" he asked in a low voice.
"Go on the field?" Kuniichi Osamu looked at him in surprise. "Don't you dislike baseball?"
"I don't like playing wind music either. Stop talking nonsense. Can you please let me play? Any position is fine."
"You should ask the coach. In a high school baseball club, the coach's words are orders, and they are absolute!"
"Go ask around for me and tell them that I'm an all-rounder. Even if I lose runs at the beginning, after one or two innings, I'll be a world-class baseball player."
"You're really good at blowing the whistle. The most I can say is that you run fast and let you guard the bases."
"Anything is fine."
Kunii Osamu stood up, walked to the front row, and whispered to the coach who was staring at the court:
"Coach, Watanabe said he wants to play. That guy runs faster than me. Maybe he can try to guard center field."
"Idiot!" the coach cursed. "This is the Koshien preliminaries! If we lose one game, we lose completely!"
"The opponent is Qingshan High School. The baseball team was just established this year. In the first inning, they were defeated 4:0..."
"Can you underestimate the enemy like this?!"
"Dad," Kobayashi Yukiko hugged the coach's arm, "Just let Watanabe-kun play one game, just one game, guarding left or right outfield, okay~"
"No! Koshien will never allow any slacking! Even Osaka Toin lost in the qualifiers. How can we..."
"Hmph!" Kobayashi Yukiko let go of her hand and turned her face away.
The coach looked at his daughter, then looked at the field:
"Yeah, but that's the Osaka Division, this is the East Tokyo Division, and our opponent is Aoyama High School. There's no point in winning against such an opponent. Properly sending in reserve members can put more pressure on the main members, so that they stay nervous from the beginning and don't get too cocky. Only by bearing the pressure and winning games continuously can they go further in Koshien."
"Didn't you just say that no water release would be allowed?" Kunii Osamu said.
"Idiot! This is strategy. Do you think baseball is just about pitching, swinging, and catching?"
"I'll go ask Watanabe to change his clothes!" Kunii Osamu quickly slipped away.
"By the way," the coach called him over, "let him go to the mound."
"pitcher?!"
"It doesn't matter if Aoyama scores. Our batting line is strong enough. Kunii."
"exist!"
"You need to get back all the points lost by the person you called. Do you hear me?"
"yes!"
Kunii Osamu walked to the second row and said to Watanabe Toru, "Thanks to Kamikawa's status as the top hitter, I convinced the coach to allow you to play. Go change your clothes. By the way, you are the pitcher."
Watanabe Toru looked at the distance of about one meter between the front and back rows and gained a new understanding of Kunii Osamu's shamelessness.
"I have no clothes."
"No clothes?" Kunihiko was shocked. "You come to play in the game, but you don't bring a uniform! Oh, you don't seem to have a uniform."
"Yes, yes, yes!" Kobayashi Yukiko took out a bag, "Watanabe-kun, your team uniform is here. Oh, and your baseball gloves, hat, and helmet!"
"Thank you very much!" Watanabe Toru used honorifics.
After changing clothes, in the second half, Toru Watanabe followed Kamikawa and others onto the court.
"Kunii." Toru Watanabe pulled Kunii Osamu and lowered his voice.
"What's the matter?" Kunii Masaru was about to go to first base.
"All the pitcher has to do is throw the ball and the catcher will catch it?"
Kunii Osamu looked at Watanabe Toru.
"What's wrong? Answer me now!"
"Where is this?" Kunijima Osamu pointed at the ground below.
"Jingu Stadium."
"Where in Jingu Stadium?"
"Baseball field?"
"Where on the baseball field?"
“……” Toru Watanabe looked at Kunii Osamu.
“……” Kunii Osamu looked at Watanabe Toru.
After a while.
"You don't understand baseball?" asked Kunii Osamu.
"I understand." Watanabe Toru replied, "Just confirming, this is my first match."
"What is this area called?"
“…”
"You don't understand! You don't understand baseball! Listen to me, this is the infield, that is the boundary, you have to ..."
"Don't talk about that, tell me what the pitcher should do!" The discussion between the two has attracted the attention of others.
"…Throw the ball and let the catcher catch it." Kunii Osamu said with a tone of giving up everything.
"It's just a one-line sentence, why do you have to talk about it for so long? I'm just a pitcher, I don't need to know where this is."
Toru Watanabe took the pitcher's mound.
…
In the audience.
"It's really time to go on stage." Miki Kujo, with her legs crossed, forced herself to show interest.
"I'm still discussing tactics with Kunii-san!" Koizumi Aona looked expectant.
Kiyono Rin looked at the venue indifferently, while Asu Mai's eyes were always on Watanabe Toru.
"Watanabe-kun! Come on! Watanabe-kun! Come on!" Mrs. Kujo held an inflatable baseball bat and shouted along with Kamikawa's cheerleading team.
