Aww… What a pity.

Yeah. It was so close…

What're you two going on about over there?

Yeah. Mia's hit got us tied. Then we turned the game around in the extra inning and won in a landslide!

I know, but I wanted to see Mia's home run be a big game changer!

Yeah, we were so close to scoring. Doesn't that make you sad, Mia?

Not really. My goal was for our team to win, and since they did, I'm perfectly happy.

Gosh, you're stoic.

So you say, Mia, but weren't you working harder than anyone else today?

Uh! No, not really…

You can try to hide it, but your hands give it all away.

Huh? What do you mean?

Oh, your hands are covered in blisters.

Yeah, and judging from where they are, they must have come from swinging the bat.

D-Don't look at my hands! Look, I wasn't trying that hard or anything. I was just upset that I couldn't hit anything during our practice session.

The return of your competitive streak, I see.

It's cute seeing you all embarrassed and trying to hide it.

For real. You're not being honest again, aren'tcha?

Hmph. Don't be ridiculous.

We're not being ridiculous. We really do think so.

Thank you all for everything today.

No worries. I hope we were some help.

You were a huge help! We were thinking of going to grab a bite to eat after this. Would you like to join us?

And that's what she said. What do you guys think?

Sounds great to me!

Yeah, my tummy's getting pretty rumbly.

All right. Shall we be on our way?

Hey, Shioriko. Thanks.

Hm? What for?

Honestly, I really didn't think I could do it. I'm not very athletic, after all.

But playing baseball turned out to be super fun. I wouldn't have learned that if you hadn't pushed me into trying it.

*Giggle* My pleasure. Now let's go, Mia.

Sure thing.