H2
	 Volume 23
	  Chapter 8 (226)
	   Consider This the Real Thing

 - Page 131 -

[The High School Baseball Autumn Tournament, Tokyo Preliminaries]

(Ch. 8) Consider This the Real Thing

[Schools are split into 20 blocks, with the winner of each block going to the tournament in October...]
[And then...]

 - Pages 132 & 133 -

[Onward to the Invitational in the spring...]

(Ch. 8) Consider This the Real Thing

 - Page 134 -

[Of course,]
[with new teams, minus the third-year students...]

 - Page 135 -

 - Page 136 -

Meiwa Coach: What do you think, Tachibana?

Hideo: I'm amazed.
	He's a first-year?

Meiwa Coach: Yep.
	Ishimoto Yutaka.
	He was fast from the moment he joined the team, but his balance was poor and his control was pathetic.
	So I spent the past six months making him run, rather than doing any throwing.

 - Page 137 -

Meiwa Coach: Even then...
	I didn't expect it to pay off this spectacularly.
	I was expecting us to have trouble with pitching after losing the seniors,
	but this is a pleasant surprise.

Hideo: May I stand in the batter's box for a bit?

Meiwa Coach: Huh?

 - Page 138 -

Meiwa Coach: The instincts of a first-rate batter...
	Very well.

Hideo: Pardon me.
	Don't hold back.  Consider this the real thing.

 - Page 139 -

Ishimoto: All right.

 - Page 140 -

 - Page 141 -

Hideo: Wait a minute.
	What are you doing?

Meiwa Coach: Didn't you just say to consider it the real thing?
	Any sound-minded coach would choose the same plan of action.

 - Page 142 -

Bat: (clang)

 - Page 143 -

Koga: What do you think, Kunimi?
	Of our new thirdbaseman, Inoue...

Hiro: I like how he's small and unpredictable.
	It makes him fun to watch.
	A little weak in character, but lots of potential.
	Let's enter him under "honorable mention."

Koga: This isn't a comic award committee.

 - Page 144 -

Inoue: Oops.

Hiro: Well, we'll need to keep a big guy at first.

Koga: Right!

 - Page 145 -

Hiro: I like this defense.
	Don't worry.
	They're all excited about practicing.  They'll get better.
	Let's take it slow.

Koga: We can't move slowly.
	The autumn tournament blocks are about to begin!

 - Page 146 -

Hiro: Huh?
	You want to get into the spring tournament?

Koga: You mean you don't?

(Note: The best teams of the autumn tournament are invited to participate in the spring Koshien.)

Hiro: Didn't you see
	how many teams are in the 20 blocks this year?

Koga: Two teams from Tokyo will go on, so statistically it's the same as the summer tournament.

Noda: Actually, it's not the same,
	with him.
	He works best against the heat,
	and he tends to get better the hotter it is.

Hiro: They say I was born to pitch in the summer Koshien.

 - Page 147 -

Hiro: OK,
	let's switch, Yanagi.

Noda: In summer, his pitching goes beyond his normal potential.
	And so he tends to be a bit more mortal in spring and autumn.

Koga: ...well,
	we can go slow then.

 - Page 148 -

Driver: Have you seen enough, sir?

Hirota: Yes.

 - Page 149 -

Teams: Seijo
	Senkawa

 - Page 150 -

Koga: It's pretty cool,
	today...

Haruka: It sure is.

 - Page 151 -

 - Page 152 -

Team: Seijo
	Senkawa

<<Noda: Of course, even if he doesn't pitch BETTER than normal,
	Hiro's normal is still unbelievably good.

 - Chapter 8 End -