I (30), Who Works for a Black Company and Died While Regretting My Gloomy Life, Started Over From High School! - Chapter 48
Chapter 48 Memories of the Ball Game
A softball soared high into the sky above the park and fell, pulled down by gravity.
This time, this time, I ran, determined not to drop it.
I dash as fast as I can to the expected drop point.
I run and run – desperately thrusting out the glove on my right hand as the ball drops.
But—
“Oh…!”
The softball escapes from my outstretched hand and bounces to the ground.
It was as if they were mocking me as I struggled to move.
“Again, …damn it, this is not how the play was supposed to go…”
Looking at the cruel result, I let out a voice filled with frustration.
Goddamn it… Goddamn it!
“Damn it…! I hate ball games..!”
My jersey-clad voice, full of anger and sorrow, echoed through the park on my day off.
In the first place, how did I end up practicing softball on my day off in a place like this?
The reason for this was an abominable memory that I had suddenly revived three days ago.
At lunchtime that day, Shijouin-san and I were chatting about trivial things in a corner of the class.
“So, Kazamihara-san said, ‘Shijouin-san likes bamboo shoot chocolate, right? Mushroom chocolate isn’t an evil faction, is it?’ He asked me with a serious face. For some reason, the classmates around me who were listening to this were also reacting strangely and began fidgeting…”
[TLN: Bamboo shoot and mushroom chocolate are choco from same brand and it look like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgWdOcJKYSI]
“Uh, …yeah, I can see how they reacted. So what did you say, Shijoin-san?”
Incidentally, mushroom chocolate and bamboo shoot chocolate are two long-selling sweets that have been the subject of a huge debate over which is superior for many years.
In real life and on the Internet, there is a constant war going on, with people saying things like, “Mushrooms are easy to eat, while bamboo shoots get your hands dirty,” and “Bamboo shoots have a delicious cookie dough that mushrooms don’t have,” so it’s hard to say which one you prefer by accident.
When she responded with, “I like Panda March for chocolate!” For some reason, everyone’s faces became kind, and Kazamihara-san bowed to her and said, “I’m sorry for trying to get you involved in a silly fight… Please be the pure Shijouin-san you are…”
“Yeah… I feel exactly the same way as Kazamihara-san. I hope you don’t forget those pure feelings, Shijoin-san.”
“What?”
Shijouin-san questioned me as I smiled at her.
Oh, my favorite person is still cute today.
“And by the way, …it’s almost the end of the semester.
“Yeah, it’s going by fast.
Yes, it has really flown by since I started my second adolescence in this life.
And in that short time, Shijouin-san and I have become much closer, but after the recent visit to the Shijouin family, I feel like we’ve become even more close to one another.
“It’s almost summer vacation, right? Before that, we have to finish the ball game that we’re working on…”
The ball game was an inter-class event, and in our school, there are three types of leagues: soft volleyball, softball and basketball, and the class with the most wins is the winner.
Compared to the gym festival, it is more of a class competition, and our class has the most wins so far because we have a lot of athletic club members.
“Our class is winning right now! I’ll be happy if we can win like this!”
Shijouin-san said with some excitement. As was the case with the cultural festival, Shijouin-san seems to like events like this, where everyone is united.
“I’m not sure if it’s because the festival brought the class closer together, but the others were pretty fired up as well.
“Yes! Shinhama-kun will be playing softball on the last day, right? Let’s both do our best not to get injured!”
“Yeah, I guess so. My game will be at the end of the day—?
At that moment, a scene suddenly flashed back in my mind.
A softball falling toward me.
My glove selflessly thrusts out.
The ball bouncing mercilessly off the ground.
The way the classmates who had been cheering enthusiastically fell silent.
“Oh…!
I remembered…!
No, I should say that I just realized…
(Ball games are held multiple times a year, but… there’s no doubt it’s seasonal…! The ball game we’re having now is the one from that time…!)
“What? What? What’s wrong with you, Nihama-kun?”
“Oh, oh, no, sorry, I just remembered something…”
I tried to make up for the black and white eyes of Shijouin-san, but my head was filled with memories of that time.
That time when my team lost the championship because of me and splashed water on the excitement of the class—
“That… Shijouin-san.”
“Yes?”
“Shijoin-san is participating in volleyball, but it will end in the morning on the last day of the ball game, right? So… you’re still coming to watch the last softball, right? …”
“Yes, of course! I’ll be rooting for you, Nihama-kun!
“Oh, yeah… Yeah, thank you…
The smile on her face was so pure and carefree that it made me smile back with extreme bitterness.
That smile, which always gives me nothing but euphoria, only now accelerates my anguish to no end.
If this continues, I’m going to make a mistake.
In front of the one and only girl I love.
Sitting on the grass in the park, I look up at the clear sky.
“Damn… you can’t get good at that overnight…”
I hadn’t originally intended to practice like this.
Just like in my previous life, the ball game was not a particularly important event for me, and I thought that it was enough if I could contribute to the class as much as I could.
“But I can’t help remembering something like that…
The memory of my previous life that I remembered was something like this.
On the last day of the ball game, our class and our opponent’s class were the highest scorers, and it was a game that could be called the final.
The last event was softball, in which I was participating, and my position was unimportant, just like in this life.
The final event of the last day, the final match.
There was no way that such a match would not draw a crowd, and we proceeded to compete under the gaze of many spectators.
And then — the last inning when our class was leading by one run.
The runners were on second and third, but there were two outs, and it was the very last at bat.
(I’m starting to remember the details more and more, but …was a lot of fun at that time, wasn’t it? “One more! “One more! I’m sure you’ll agree. The class was cheering for him. …… Shijouin-san said, “We’re almost there! I’m sure you’ll be able to do it…
And the last pitch of the game, of all things, soared over my head.
It was a mediocre light fly, and the other team covered their eyes, while many of our class shouted, “Yes!” Many in our class shouted, “Yes!”
But the one guarding the lights was me, who was not very good at ball games.
In the previous games, the ball rarely flew toward the right side of the field, so I had been able to get away with it, but at the last moment, it came flying in.
The ball fell to the ground without being caught, and we lost the game in reverse.
The other team said, “Yay! We’re winning!” and the other team was overjoyed,
At that time, I couldn’t stand the gaze of… everyone and kept my eyes closed for a while, so I don’t know what kind of face the cheering Shijouin-san had on.
But there is no doubt that her excitement has cooled down.
(Well, it’s just a ball game, and in my previous life, I wasn’t blamed by the people around me afterwards… Not that I would be in the same situation in this life in the first place…)
Even Shijouin-san doesn’t think that dropping the ball will change her liking for me. But–
“I’m not going to show my ineptitude in front of the girl I love ever again…! I’m going to get better at this for sure!”
That was the only emotion I was absolutely sure of.
It may be a man’s trivial appearance, but I want to look as good as I can in front of Shijo-in-san…!
“You should at least be able to catch flies and ground balls well…!”
With renewed energy, I stood up and threw the ball high into the air.
It’s all about the catch.
If I could just get the feeling of catching the ball with my glove, I could…!
That’s…!
I timed it right, and unfolded my glove to block the path of the ball.
That’s all I had to do, to make the ball automatically fall into my glove.
About to fall, plop, roll [TLN: falling ball motion plop is when hitting something and roll is the motion of ball afterward (rolling)]
「…」
I’ve been clearing up… various problems since I started my youth all over again in this life.
I was able to fight off the “cutthroat yankees” with my mental strength, and at the school festival, I was able to succeed in both presentation and management with the skills I developed at the company I worked for in my past life.
And the other day, I just barely cleared an interview with the president of Shijoin Tokimune.
But this is the only… sport that has been a disaster since my school days. …Athleticism is the only thing that is difficult to maintain…!
Just when I was lamenting in my heart…
“Hey, Shinhama? What are you doing here?”
“What are you doing here? Fumihashi-san…?”
I turned around to hear a voice behind me and saw my classmate, Mai Fumihashi, standing there in a sports T-shirt and short pants.
