Mash-Up: I'm Not A Substitute

Public confessions—romantic or coercive?

Some call it romantic. Others call it emotional blackmail.

To Takashi, unless the feelings are mutual, confessing in public is nothing more than moral coercion.

You just want to pressure the other person into saying yes, don't you?

What is a confession supposed to be?

It's an expression of your feelings, not a demand for a relationship.

For some reason, there are always guys—maybe influenced by too many short videos or old idol dramas—who like to arrange a circle of flowers on the ground and confess in front of crowds of people.

What are you thinking?

Do you really believe you're being romantic?

You think girls will be moved?

But to them, you're just acting like a clown in public. Honestly, they'd be justified in calling the cops on you.

Ugh, how annoying. Why would you confess in front of so many people? I don't even know you.

That's exactly how Umaru felt—like she was being roasted alive.

This boy, whose name she didn't even know, hadn't considered her feelings in the slightest.

If she turned him down, she'd be thrust into the center of public opinion.

As for saying yes?

She hadn't even considered it.

Not even as a temporary solution.

Because she genuinely didn't like this boy.

Accepting his confession when she had no feelings for him—only to reject him later—giving someone hope just to dash it? That wasn't something Umaru would ever do.

"Doma-san, will you go out with me?"

With his classmates nudging him forward, Ren Izuno approached the stands where Umaru sat, eyes full of longing as he gazed at the perfect girl he'd been enamored with ever since the entrance ceremony.

"I swear, I'll treat you well."

"…"

The smile vanished from Umaru's face. Her lips were tightly pressed together, but she couldn't say a word.

At that moment, Umaru wished someone—anyone—would pull her away.

She glanced at the girl beside her, Ebina Nana.

Right now, Nana's face was bright red, her hands tightly gripping the hem of her skirt, and a faint mist of steam seemed to rise above her head.

Seeing how hopeless she looked, Umaru realized she couldn't count on her.

Though she had many friends at school, Ebina Nana was the only one she was truly close to.

Doma-san is in trouble! She needs me!

Don't these idiots see how uncomfortable she is?

Tachibana Sylphynford, who saw herself as Umaru's lifelong rival, and Honjo Chie, who was obsessed with fantasizing about Umaru, both noticed the girl's unease. 

At nearly the same time, they stood up, ready to rush over and pull her away.

But just then, a lean, upright figure stepped in front of Umaru.

Under more than fifty thousand pairs of stunned, confused, and curious eyes, he reached out his hand toward her.

"I'll take you away."

Takashi didn't say anything more—just those four words.

Hanshin Koshien Stadium seemed to fall into utter silence. Not a single sound was heard. The entire venue was deathly still.

Ren Izuno stood there, dumbfounded, his face frozen in disbelief and confusion.

Umaru looked up.

The cicadas were singing in midsummer. 

The boy in a white uniform stood against the golden sunset, which outlined his shoulders, eyebrows, and hair, as if trying to merge him into the very light itself.

Umaru loved sunsets—especially the ones around 6 p.m. in the summer. Not too high, not too low, with orange clouds pressing gently above her head.

That was usually the most beautiful time of day.

But not today.

A soft breeze carried the warm, ambiguous air between the boy and the girl, brushing gently against their hearts.

"Okay."

The girl reached out her hand to the boy.

And the moment Umaru placed her small hand into his palm, Takashi held it tight—like he was holding onto a once-in-a-lifetime treasure.

His hand trembled slightly, though it was hard to notice.

Umaru noticed, glanced at him, and lowered her eyes.

Ignoring the stares from the crowd, Takashi held Umaru's hand and walked away with her in full view of everyone.

Takashi knew this move was a huge gamble.

Kashiwagi Nagisa, Katsura Kotonoha, and Hayasaka Ai would definitely see it.

He didn't even dare to imagine how angry Narii would be.

It wasn't that Takashi didn't understand the risk—he just had a reason he had to do this.

Because he had already invested too much time and energy into Umaru.

If he didn't act now, and Umaru found out later that he had been present but did nothing, how could she possibly continue to have a good impression of him?

Impossible.

No girl would like a boy who doesn't have the courage to step up when something happens.

Even if she had liked you before, this one incident would wipe away all her feelings in an instant.

Then everything he had done before would be for nothing.

Takashi was that kind of guy—the kind who wouldn't act unless he was sure he could succeed.

When he made a move, he had to win.

Just like chasing a girl.

He could accept not becoming her future husband, but he had to walk alongside her for part of her life journey.

To put it simply, he had to get the girl.

Takashi would be a flirt, a predator even, but never a simp.

"Wah~"

Takashi and Umaru hadn't even left the field yet, but the entire Hanshin Koshien Stadium erupted.

"Ah, that's way too sweet. I'm shipping them, I'm shipping them!"

"Koshien has seen fights and passion before, but this is the first time I've seen someone steal a girl!"

"Rip to the guy who just confessed."

"What's going on? Didn't the papers say Takashi is Yukino's boyfriend? Did they break up?"

"Do you believe anything that toilet paper tabloid prints?"

The girl who had just been confessed to was taken away by another boy. 

And the one who took her away was none other than Kitahara Takashi—the rising Koshien star pitcher who had just been rumored with Yukinoshita's second daughter yesterday.

Just this morning, the Hanshin Tigers' owner publicly declared to the media that if Takashi were willing to join their professional team, he was prepared to offer an annual salary of 340 million yen.

Takashi, the poor boy from Hokkaido, had his entire background exposed the moment he rose to fame at Koshien and changed his life trajectory.

Of course, this information was voluntarily leaked by Hitomi.

Born into an ordinary family, his parents died when he was fifteen. 

At sixteen, he came alone to Tokyo for school, worked hard to get into Aoba, ranked third in the national mock exams, became the strongest member of the kendo club in his first year, and after a friend was injured, replaced a third-year student in the baseball team in just seven days… wasn't that even more impressive than fictional heroes?

There was so much mystery surrounding Takashi that it only made the public more curious about this genius pitcher.

Most importantly, he was also incredibly handsome!

That's right!

Standing on the field, people could clearly sense that his looks were on a different level compared to everyone else.

As a result, after yesterday's events, Takashi instantly gained a horde of female fans.

For girls, strength, background, and grades meant nothing compared to a beautiful face.

Takashi was hot right now.

And now, he was even stealing girls—regardless of anything else, the audience at this year's Koshien thought it was incredibly entertaining.

Koshien had been held for over a hundred years. 

Though it was still the most popular tournament in the country, it was undeniable that its summer edition was losing attention and influence year after year.

Besides a dwindling audience, another reason was that people's thrill threshold had become too high.

It was just like LPL: after witnessing S8's first world championship and Grand Slam, S9's Phoenix Rebirth and two consecutive titles, and S11's Knights' Road comeback from the brink—what else could even move you?

People get tired of things that never change. That's why Takashi's bold confidence and disregard for everything felt so refreshing to everyone.

The Koshien organizers clearly knew Takashi was this year's talking point, so the cameras remained trained on him and Umaru.

Another camera was fixed on Izuno Ren.

The massive electronic screen was split in half.

One side showed the boy and girl holding hands, the other showed Izuno Ren's flushed, red face.

Noticing the camera, Takashi whispered, "Run."

"Okay."

The moment the two ran off hand in hand, girls in the stands screamed, "Ahhhh!!!"

The cameraman didn't miss a beat and followed them closely.

Even though the actual match was between Arayata High and Tokin High, the spotlight had shifted entirely to Takashi and Umaru.

As they ran through the roaring crowd, Umaru tilted her head to look at Takashi.

Just then, he looked back at her too.

His eyes were sincere and bright, showing his emotions openly, without any disguise.

The boy and girl smiled at each other and ran against the setting sun, as if they were sprinting together through the lush days of youth, heading toward a shared future.

Behind them was the passionate and unrestrained passage of time; beside them, the cheers of a packed stadium. The way they ran forward looked just like a scene from a youth film.

People felt as though they were witnessing the most beautiful image of youth in those two.

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