H2
	 Volume 8
	  Chapter 8 (77)
	   It's Gone!

 - Page 131 -

[Springtime is the season...]

(Ch. 8) It's Gone!

(The banner probably reads "National High School Baseball Tournament" but you can't see all of it.)

[Right now, in 1994,]
[it's the season for baseball.]
[No matter what anyone else tries to tell you...]

 - Page 132 -

[It's the season for baseball...]

 - Page 133 -

(Ch. 8) It's Gone!

 - Page 134 -

Hiro: Yes.
	Perfect.

TV: Is it going?!

Hiro: It's gone.

 - Page 135 -

TV: It's gone!
	A homerun!
	One of the stars of this tournament, Meiwa Daiichi's second-year clean-up hitter, Tachibana Hideo!
	His debut at-bat in the Koshien is a towering homerun into the stands in left field!

Hiro: Life is long.
	Don't lose sight of yourself because of a momentary spotlight, Hide-chan.
	Agh,
	this sucks.

 - Page 136 -

 - Page 137 -

 - Page 138 -

Noda: Hey, c'mon, don't blast the pitches in like that, or you won't last until summer.

Hiro: Hideo was blasting pitches.
	Into the Koshien stands.

 - Page 139 -

Hiro: Hiyah!

Reporter: I'm sorry, Amamiya-san,
	we got a little lost.

 - Page 140 -

Koga: Kunimi-kuun.
	Someone from a newspaper wants to speak with you.

Kine: What?!

Takaaki: Hi.

Hiro: Oh,
	hello.

Takaaki: I'm just along for the ride, today.
	He'll be doing the interview.

Reporter: Hello there.

 - Page 141 -

Reporter: Actually, we're covering Meiwa Ichi's Tachibana Hideo in-depth,
	so we've been getting comments from various people, starting with his parents.
	And when we asked Tachibana-kun at the Koshien, he listed you as his best friend.

Hiro: Yeah, that figures.

Kine: Wait a minute, wait a minute!  If you wanna know about Tachibana, let me speak!
	Where's the camera?

Noda: We're not on TV.

Kine: I am the brilliant Kine Ryutaro, member of both the baseball and soccer teams here.
	Tachibana and I fought over the clean-up spot on the Hakusan Angels in Little League...

Reporter: Right, right,
	I'll talk with you afterwards.

Kine: What the hell was that?!
	You can't discuss Tachibana's current greatness without mentioning my own influence!

Noda: Yeah yeah.

 - Page 142 -

Reporter: Did Tachibana-kun say anything to you before he went to the Koshien?

Hiro: He said he'd be the best batter in Japan.

Reporter: Oooh.
	Naturally.
	Nobody would think of laughing at that, coming from him.
	Mm-hm, mm-hm.

Hiro: And he told me to be the best pitcher in Japan.

Reporter: HA HA HA!
	Oh, sorry.
	What else?

Hiro: And that we would meet in the Koshien.

Reporter: Aha, a considerate but marginally likely story to cheer on his friend.
	Very nice.

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Reporter: So, as his closest companion, what would you like to say about your nationally-renowned friend?

Hiro: You're not a pro baseball player, nor are you some teenage celebrity idol.
	You're just a high schooler.
	You've still only begun climbing the hill of life.
	If you miss your step on the way up, you'll fall back down the hill.

Reporter: Umm...

Hiro: Listen!  Life is long.

Reporter: Uh,
	thank you very much.
	That will be all.

Kine: Hey, wait, you!
	Listen to my story!

Noda: (yeah yeah)

 - Page 144 -

Takaaki: Shimada,
	would you mind taking some pictures of that young man?

Shimada: Hmm?

Reporter: But, the editor said we just needed some comments, that photos weren't necessary.

Takaaki: Just do it, please.

Shimada: Very well.

Takaaki: They'll come in handy someday.
	Trust me on that.

 - Page 145 -

TV: The fourth match on the third day of the tournament...
	Now,
	Take a look at this pitcher on the mound!

 - Page 146 -

TV: Hirota, the southpaw ace of the famous Shiroyama's Eikyo Academy!
	Facing Tsujii, Moriyama Trade School's top hitter!
	The team's fastest runner, captain, and lead-off batter!
	Whether he gets on base or not will make a big difference in this game!

Shuji: Which means, with him out of the way, it's a piece of cake.

 - Page 147 -

TV: Oh!  Hit on the leg!
	That looks painful!
	Was that an inward-curving slider for the first pitch?!
	Tsujii had no chance to dodge that one!
	His first pitch in the Koshien, under the national spotlight...
	Even a pitcher as great as him is going to freeze up and get nervous!  What do you think, Commentator Nehori-san?!
	You're exactly right!
	This IS the Koshien, after all!

Shuji: The perfect excuse.

 - Page 148 -

 - Chapter 8 Owari -