Mash-Up: I'm Not A Substitute

After enjoying a lavish breakfast at the Konoe residence, Takashi boarded the helicopter that had picked him up yesterday and headed alone toward Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture.

This time, Hitomi didn't come along.

Because Takashi, this beast, had worn her out way too much last night.

Today, this young lady's legs were trembling just trying to get out of bed.

The typical romantic progression goes: confession → confirming the relationship → dating → holding hands → kissing → hugging → checking into a hotel, and then... 

Well, people who get it, get it. Those who don't, go watch some videos.

And Takashi and Hitomi?

Kissing → got straight to it!

They skipped all the steps and went straight to the finale.

In one day, the two of them completed what Kasumigaoka Utaha and Sawamura Eriri hadn't managed in over half a year.

Sitting in the helicopter, Takashi was nervous and anxious, worried the helicopter might crash suddenly.

But fortunately, his worries were completely unnecessary.

He arrived at his destination safely.

After disembarking, Takashi took a car to Kobe High School.

Kobe High is a public high school in Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture, with a deviation score of 75.

Over 70% of its graduates go on to national or public universities, mostly in the Kansai region.

As for club activities, Kobe High is best known for its soccer and choir clubs.

The soccer team has won national championships, and the choir club has taken the gold at the All-Japan Choir Competition.

There was no game today, but there was baseball practice in the morning, and in the afternoon, the team would be scouting their next opponent.

The chauffeur arranged by Hitomi dropped Takashi off at the school gates. He politely thanked the driver and walked toward the school.

"Hello, I'm Aoba's Kitahara Takashi, here's my stu—"

"I know you! You're the Empire's Arm Titan!"

Before Takashi could even take out his student ID to prove his identity, the security guard had already pulled out a small notebook from his pocket.

"Could I get your autograph? My daughter's a huge fan of yours."

"The Empire's Arm Titan… that's me?"

Takashi looked stunned, pointing at his own nose.

He knew the Japanese loved giving people nicknames.

They give everything some sort of nickname, with ridiculously exaggerated modifiers.

Like "Dragon Prince of the Eastern Seas," "Deep Sea Demon King," "Imperial Savage Tiger," "Empire Destruction Dragon," "Empire Giant Skull," and so on.

They're truly a nation of chuunibyō!

"You didn't know?"

"I had no clue."

He'd been busy… uh… farming all night, and didn't have time to check the news.

After signing the autograph and taking a picture with the guard, Takashi made his way to the Kobe baseball field.

Kobe High's baseball team wasn't very strong; they were eliminated in the second round of the Koshien regional qualifiers. But their baseball facilities were top-notch.

Takashi had thought that since school was out, there wouldn't be many people.

But as he got closer to the field, he saw crowds lined up outside the wire fence.

There were students in Kobe High uniforms, Aoba students, and a ton of reporters and media crews.

All together, there were easily several hundred people.

Takashi was puzzled as to why there were so many people during a school break, until someone shouted, "Takashi is here!!!"

In an instant, countless eyes turned toward him.

Takashi had a bad feeling.

The next second, they all swarmed him.

"Takashi, is it true you never train, and only practiced for seven days before securing a spot on the starting team?"

"Kitahara-kun, now that the team's ace pitcher is injured, do you feel pressured?"

"Kitahara-kun, why did you choose number 7? Does that number have a special meaning to you?"

"Kitahara-kun, do you have a girlfriend?"

"Kitahara-kun, we heard your grades are excellent. How do you maintain such strong academics while also performing so well in sports?"

…

The reporters were like dogs who'd just seen a pile of fresh meat, shoving their mics practically down his throat.

Takashi couldn't get a word in.

Even someone as smooth-talking and quick-witted as him was left flustered.

"Move aside!"

"Don't injure our pitcher!"

"This is practice time. Please don't disturb our players!"

Thankfully, Tōchi Taku arrived with a large group to bail him out.

"Junior, come with me."

In the crowd, Takashi didn't know who had grabbed his arm and pulled him forward.

Only when he broke through the crowd did he see clearly who it was.

"Senpai Anai."

The person was none other than Anai Tatsuya, who had originally made it onto the first team but had been forcibly replaced by Takashi.

"Don't just stand there like an idiot. Go warm up," Anai Tatsuya said.

After pulling Takashi out of the crowd, he handed him a brand-new baseball uniform.

Looking at the uniform and then at Anai Tatsuya, Takashi spoke softly, "Thank you."

He hadn't expected such generosity.

If it were him, if someone took the position he had worked hard for over three years to earn, he wouldn't have reacted this graciously. 

Even if he didn't lash out, he definitely wouldn't have treated them kindly.

As Takashi was taking off his jacket, Anai Tatsuya said in a low voice, "Junior, take my place and go to the top."

Takashi paused, then handed his jacket to Tatand slipped into the baseball uniform, the fabric fluttering as he said, "Okay!"

After a brief warm-up, Takashi stepped onto the pitcher's mound under the expectant gazes of reporters.

He knew exactly what everyone wanted to see.

So, he gripped the seam of the ball between his index and middle fingers, spread his feet shoulder-width apart, slightly bent his knees, stepped back, raised his leg to the highest point, then launched forward—pitching the ball.

Meanwhile, in the conference room at Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School—

Horikita Manabu looked around the room, noticing that representatives from all grade levels were present. 

He nodded lightly at Student Council Secretary Tachibana Akane, signaling that the meeting could begin.

Tachibana Akane pressed a button resembling a remote control, and the projector cast an image onto the blackboard.

"This year's Koshien is stronger than any in the past."

"These are the teams I observed yesterday that pose the greatest threat to us."

As she spoke, Tachibana Akane pressed the remote again.

A school name quickly appeared on the screen.

[Chukyo University Affiliated Chukyo High School]

Koshien record: Championships: 7; Runners-up: 0; Semifinals: 6; Quarterfinals: 7; Danger Level: ????

"Chukyo High has always been a powerhouse at Koshien, winning the Spring Championship 11 times, with a total of 58 wins in spring and 78 in summer—all national records."

"They even won the Summer Championship three years in a row back during the Chukyo Commerce era—in the 17th, 18th, and 19th tournaments—the only school in history to achieve a summer triple crown."

"Though their dominance has waned, they are always seen as seeded players."

"This year, they've hired a retired MLB player as coach, put the team through hellish training, and brought in several powerful newcomers. 

They've built the strongest batting lineup in Koshien and are creating a storm with their heavy-hitting."

"Also, their ace is unbelievably strong. His bizarre butterfly pitch is nearly unhittable."

"They are among the top contenders for the championship."

Tachibana's clear and crisp voice echoed through the meeting room.

After she finished, no one spoke.

She paused briefly, then continued, "Next, Osaka Toin High School."

She pulled up their stats.

Koshien record: Championships: 5; Runners-up: 0; Semifinals: 1; Quarterfinals: 0; Danger Level: ?????

"As everyone knows, the strongest modern team is Osaka Toin High. In the past decade, they've won three championships, including two spring-summer doubles."

"One more thing worth noting—when Osaka Toin makes it to the finals, their win rate is 100%."

"They've never lost a match."

"This summer, they not only have a strong batting lineup, but also a deep bullpen. They have three pitchers who would be ace pitchers on any other team."

"If Chukyo is the veteran overlord, then Osaka Toin is the new generation's king."

"Their dominance at Koshien is terrifying."

"Now, the third team is…"

This meeting lasted a full two hours, and during that time, no one other than Akane spoke.

By the end, everyone wore exhausted expressions.

Even Arisu couldn't help rubbing her temples lightly with her fingers.

But no one complained.

Before they came, their homeroom teachers had told them that if they won Koshien, the school would award over 100 million points to the students.

At Advanced Nurturing High School, points meant money—and everything.

No one didn't want more points.

___

20 Advanced Chapters available on p@ tr eon (.) com/HalflingFics

Also, please point out my mistakes in the comment, thank you!

Don't forget to leave a review too~

Check out the other translations too

___