Chapter 46: The Baseball Game Ends, Hinata... Did Not Disappear

“The final round, just a single point separates the two teams—who would have thought it would come to this?” With only one point between them, two players out, runners on second and third, Hinata gazed blankly at the sky, lost in recollection.

“Kana, how about this: if the Student Council team wins, tonight’s dinner will be mapo tofu. If they lose, then Yoru gets me ice cream, alright?” Bai Ji seized the moment to pull Kanade Li Hua to her side, watching Yoru intently.

“Decide as you like. I’ve never stopped you from eating ice cream; don’t make it sound as if I never let you have any.”

Standing on the baseball field, Hinata’s vacant stare caught Otonashi’s attention. Otonashi seemed to understand—perhaps Hinata’s greatest regret lay here. With a complicated heart, he returned to his position, something intangible weighing upon him.

The game carried on. With a loud crack, the opponent sent the ball soaring high—a ball that could easily be caught. Yet Hinata froze: “Could it be… a pop fly to second base. Just like that time.”

Hinata’s hand lifted instinctively, reaching for the incoming ball, his thoughts racing: “If I catch it, everything ends. That would be wonderful.”

“Hinata, don’t catch it!” Knowing Hinata’s past, Otonashi rushed to stop him. But Hinata’s face broke into a smile of release. Behind him, Yui crept closer, ready to prank him. But Bai Ji noticed, mischievously manipulated the ball to accelerate its fall, and it struck Yui’s head instead. Winning or losing hardly mattered to her.

“So painful! So painful!” Yui clutched her head behind Hinata, a huge bump rising, tears welling at the corners of her eyes. She could not fathom why the ball, nearly caught by Hinata, had suddenly changed course and hit her.

Yet it was not over. Hinata, failing to catch the ball, stiffened, then turned to see Yui behind him—an all-too-convenient scapegoat. He locked his arm around Yui’s neck, pulling fiercely, gritting his teeth: “What were you trying to do behind me just now? Missing the ball is all your fault! If there’s a punishment worse than death, I’ll drag you down with me!”

“Game over!” The umpire, indifferent to the chaos, announced the Student Council team’s victory as soon as an NPC reached a spot.

“You two, disappear from my sight!” Yuri, with her newly replaced binoculars in hand, hurled them out the window in fury. Outside the baseball field, Yusa, observing through her own lens, heard Yuri’s angry roar blare through her headset. Silently, she removed it and cast a pitying glance to Hinata, who was now locked in a scuffle with Yui.

“It’s over. The game’s done, time for dinner. Bai Ji, you lost the bet—no ice cream for you today!” Yoru stretched lazily, a smile in his voice as he teased Bai Ji. Self-inflicted trouble was no one else’s fault.

“Wait, Yoru! I said if I lost, dinner would be mapo tofu, but I never said I wouldn’t have ice cream besides dinner!” Bai Ji, never one to accept defeat, seized on the loophole to argue.

“Heh, that’s what you think. But I’m the one who decides. You implied I never let you have ice cream, so today you really won’t—just for one day.” Yoru nonchalantly asserted control, gently pushing the persistent Bai Ji toward Kanade Li Hua.

“Ugh, how could you! Yoru, you’re a villain—fickle, unfaithful, always changing, always restless, brimming with vitality…” Bai Ji, pushed aside, staggered back, deeply wounded, gazed at Yoru in disbelief, wiping at imaginary tears as her voice broke, stringing together a jumble of words from her meager vocabulary.

Yoru, veins throbbing, stared at Bai Ji. Where did she learn such words? For the first time, he realized Bai Ji had this side to her. Smiling gently, he said, “Tomorrow’s ice cream is gone too~”

“Too much! Kanade, look at Yoru bullying me—it’s outrageous! Tonight, let’s order extra ice cream; if you can’t finish, I’ll help!” Seeing Yoru unmoved, Bai Ji abandoned her struggle, turning to Kanade with righteous indignation.

“Is there any connection between the first and second half of your sentence?” Yoru retorted at Bai Ji’s nonsense.

“But mapo tofu is enough for me.” Kanade flatly rejected Bai Ji’s request, leaving no room for negotiation.

“Hmph! Both of you are villains!” Bai Ji turned away, pouting, her earlier sorrow vanishing as she expressed her dissatisfaction.

Yoru and Kanade exchanged glances. Yoru spoke to the slightly upset Bai Ji, “The day after tomorrow’s ice cream…”

“Though you two are villains, in my eyes, you’re also my family. It’s late—let’s go eat together!” Threatened by Yoru, Bai Ji’s temper vanished instantly. She only meant to play and have fun with them, and now changed the subject entirely.

Grabbing their hands, she ran toward the cafeteria…

Meanwhile, in the headquarters of the Angel Operations—namely, the principal’s office—the members of the battle line stood stiff as soldiers, eyes fixed forward, their backs drenched in cold sweat. The legend of punishments worse than death had them trembling in fear.

“This operation not only failed, but we didn’t take the championship either!” Yuri, legs propped on the desk, spoke with unexpected calm rather than the anticipated rage. Yet this abnormal quiet made the members of the Afterlife Battlefront even more uneasy.

Receiving no response, Yuri continued, “We failed this time, but that’s alright. Next time, we’ll try harder. Failure is the mother of success; someday, we’ll win and defeat God!”

“You think I’d say that?” Suddenly, Yuri’s expression darkened, a sinister aura rising as if she were a demon crawling out of hell. She pointed at Hinata and Yui in the crowd: “You two, sit down! Everyone else, out!”

Yui and Hinata froze, then shuffled forward, kneeling nervously on the floor, while those uncalled found relief and bolted out. Only Otonashi, loyal to a fault, was the last to leave, giving Hinata a “good luck” glance.

Hinata longed to denounce their lack of loyalty, but dared not. He knelt meekly, enduring Yuri’s predatory stare. Soon, those outside heard the heart-rending cries of the two within, and silently wished the God they rebelled against might show mercy to them both.