Believing She Has Been Reincarnated into a Baseball Game, My Little Sister Is Aiming for the Koshien, While I Give It My All to Keep Her from Finding out That It’s Actually an Ntr Game - Chapter 23

“Well, it’s good that we scored first, right? Plus, since you rounded the bases quickly, you’ve got some extra time before you have to take the mound. Take your time getting ready.”

Maika said that, but we didn’t have much time to relax.

Their batting lineup isn’t bad, but stringing together hits against a national-class pitcher won’t be easy. It’s safe to assume this inning will end in three batters.

“Yeah, I should start getting ready.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“I’ve spent a whole month mastering the technique.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“But the real issue is how to use that technique right now. How am I supposed to discreetly, um, ‘release’ while my team is playing a game right in front of me in uniform?”

“Are we actually dumb for not thinking about this until just now?”

Hey, give me a break. It’s embarrassing, okay? Talking about this with you would definitely make things awkward.

Come to think of it, my Little League coach used to say, “No matter how many practice swings you take, if you don’t practice with a real game in mind, it won’t help in the actual game.” My ‘release’ practice might’ve been like those pointless practice swings.

No, no, it’s different. I did have a game plan. I visualized it—well, I fantasized while I did it.

And now, here we are, in the exact situation I imagined. I didn’t ask for it, but Maika came here all on her own, just like in my fantasy.

She really came… for real…

I mean, I was hoping for it, but why is everything always so convenient for me when it comes to you? I’ve always held back, but now there’s no reason to. What is this? A dating sim? Yeah, this is definitely like a dating sim.

“Hey, Kyuugo, isn’t this, like, kinda tricky? How are we supposed to, you know, ‘collect’? I mean, I have a paper cup if that helps…”

That’s for drinking Pocari Sweat, right?

“It’s fine. I came prepared. I’ve got a condom on, so I can collect it cleanly when I ‘release.'”

“Wait, you hit a home run while wearing a condom…?”

Well, it’s like a type of protection.

When I went with Maika and Riko to buy ‘Super Thin Slim,’ I also picked up ‘Okamoto Super Thick-kun.’ There were some condoms in my room left by the previous Yamada Kyuugo, but they didn’t fit at all. Not even close. I cried.

By the way, I rinsed the lubricant out of the condom before putting it on. If it mixed with the adhesive, it could weaken the stickiness. That made putting it on tricky. I caught some hairs and it hurt. I cried.

“Hmm. So I should just let you ‘release’ like this, huh?”

“Just ‘let me’?…”

Maika inched closer to me, her face flushed. Her eyes downcast, she grabbed the sleeve of my uniform, awkwardly tugging at it.

“…”

“…”

Facing each other at point-blank range, former step-siblings.

No, that’s not right. It’s all wrong.

At point-blank range, unable to look each other in the eye, current lovers.

“…So, um, what should I do? You’ve gotta tell me how, or I won’t know…”

“Can I be honest?”

“Hurry up and say it.”

“Well, honestly, I’m about to ‘release’ just from this. Seeing the cutest face in the world all shy, tugging at my sleeve nervously—it’s too much. You’re too cute. You smell so good, and you’re way too cute.”

“I wish you’d said that in a better place and time.”

“I can only say stuff like that when I have an excuse or the right momentum.”

I’m really sorry. But honestly, I think I’m doing pretty well, considering. Compared to how I usually am around you, I’m being brave, right? I’m trying my best, right?

“So, Kyuugo, if you’re really that close, would it help if I touched you through the uniform? Or you can touch me too if you want, I don’t mind.”

She’s really trying. Maika is seriously trying her best right now. Steam is practically coming out of her head.

“I’d love that, but if you touch me directly right now, I’ll lose it. If your hand or knee touches me, ‘releasing’ won’t be enough.”

“I didn’t even consider using my knee… So, what do we do?”

“Well, if we just keep looking at each other like this, maybe I can manage it. Or maybe a light hug, and eventually, it’ll just… drip out.”

“Hmm.”

“But that would take too long. Maybe this inning is the only time I can afford it, but in other situations, I need a quicker solution.”

Honestly, having this much time is rare.

Most of the time, I’d only be able to come to the dugout after two outs, or the inning might end while I’m still on base. In those cases, I’d need to ‘release’ instantly.

If I could discreetly handle it while on base, that’d be ideal, but doing so would probably make the catcher think I was signaling the batter to steal signs. Yeah, I think the problem goes beyond sign-stealing.

“You’re right. If it’s not reproducible, it’s pointless. And if you take too long, pre-come might mix in, lowering the quality of the ama-dashi… So, what now? You have to do it quickly, but you can’t have direct stimulation? You’re so demanding.”

“Sorry…”

Of course, since she’s been secretly watching my training, Maika knows more about my ama-dashi situation than I do. Ama-dashi? What the heck is that? She’s making up weird terms on her own.

“This isn’t going well. I’m being so brave, you know? So, what’s the plan? Hey, hey! What’s the plan, Kyuugo?”

Even though she can’t bring herself to look me in the face, she’s really pushing me hard.

So, in the end, I have to be the one to say it…

Yeah, I guess that’s how it should be. The older brother, the boyfriend, should be the one to say it.

“Well, um… how about a… k-kiss?”

“…And?”

“A kiss. A kiss! I want to kiss you. Please let me kiss you. Kiss me, dammit!”

I was desperate. I didn’t have time to care anymore.

“…Fine. A kiss, huh? So, you want me to let you kiss me. Well, alright, I guess.”

“Okay, I can die happy now.”

The time limit I had to work within pushed me forward.

We really need to shorten baseball games. Stop dragging them out. Pitch clocks are the best.

“Don’t die yet. You’re still going to Koshien, right? Well, go ahead.”

“Go ahead? How am I supposed to steal a kiss from a girl who’s got her head hanging down like that?”

There’s over a 20-centimeter height difference between me and Maika. She’s gonna have to lift her head a lot more if this is gonna work.

“…I don’t really know how… I’ve never kissed anyone.”

“You’ve never kissed someone?”

“Are you serious?”

“Except for the eight times we kissed when we were little, right?”

Please let that be true, please.

“Nine times.”

“What?”

“We kissed nine times.”

“What? What? What?”

Wait, what? Seriously? I’ve only kissed her eight times, but she’s saying nine? What the hell? Who did she kiss? What is going on?

Is this… could this be… NTR?

Is this an NTR situation? Could it be that I’m not the cheater… but the protagonist who gets cheated on?

“Hey, why are you kneeling down?”

“My brain is destroyed. From despair. The feeling of the floor falling out from under me like in an NTR scenario. I’m getting a sad erection. If you tell me about that one kiss I don’t know about, it won’t just be ama-dashi.”

“…You don’t not know, you just forgot.”

Maika mumbled something as she slowly crouched down.

Her face was still bright red, but with the change in angle, she couldn’t escape anymore. Now I was the one looking up at her.

“I forgot? I forgot a kiss with you? No, that can’t be…”

“Fine. Whatever. Either way, I’ve kissed you nine times. And from now on, that number won’t go up with anyone else. Ever. Actually, not just ever—this is our second life together, so… forever.”

“…Maika…! I swear, I’ll never kiss anyone else but you!”

I started crying. I was so relieved that I cried.

“Hmm. Well then, I guess we’re gonna kiss now. But since I’m so clueless about how to do it… When I posted a kissing scene on Kakuyomu, some troll commented, ‘This is so obvious she’s a virgin, lol. No way she’s getting married,’ and I even got banned for excessive sexual content.”

Talk about adding insult to injury.

“What the hell did you write to get banned?”

“I don’t know. Kakuyomu’s rules for judging sexual content are vague and inconsistent. It probably depends on who’s doing the reviewing. Kinda like a baseball strike zone.”

“Don’t compare that to baseball.”

“The trick is to leave a few empty lines when writing those kinds of scenes. You imply to the reader what’s happening without actually showing it, and the moderators won’t catch it because they don’t see the gaps. That way, no one can complain.”

As she said this, Maika tucked her silky hair behind her ear.

“That’s why, right? If this world is like a game, and there’s someone out there playing this game… Even if that’s true, this ridiculous little world, where two silly side characters are stuck in such a small, stupid space doing dumb things… It’s like an empty line. Neither the player, the moderators, nor the gods are paying attention to us.”

“Maika…”

Then, as if she had made up her mind, my girlfriend gently closed her eyes.

“No matter how dumb this kiss is, it’s my unforgettable tenth kiss. I love you, Kyuugo. All of me will always be yours from now on.”

On the mound, I felt invincible.

Thanks to the strongest anti-slip technique, I successfully collected exactly 30 milliliters of ama-dashi in an instant.

To be honest, I almost couldn’t stop in time, but luckily, someone knocked on the bullpen door just then, which kept me in check.

The top of the first inning had ended. The score was still just 1-0, thanks to my home run.

When Sakuramiya peered into the bullpen after the knock, she saw Maika and me sitting together. Her face flushed as red as ours. I think she figured out what was going on. So innocent—almost like she could get stolen away.

Not that I’d ever let that happen. I already have someone in my heart. I always have.

I squeezed the secret weapon out of the condom and spread it on the underside of my cap’s brim. The name “Yamada Kyugo” and the words “Friendship, Effort, Victory” were completely covered by the thick, white adhesive. I had so much left over that I smeared it on my belt, glove, and left wrist. Even then, there was still more. 30 milliliters was way too much. Maika collected the leftover ama-dashi in a paper cup for some reason. It looked like amazake.

Anyway, with this weapon, there’s no way I’ll get hit—although, more than anything, Maika’s kiss… her softness, her warmth, her scent—it had maxed out my vitality.

Then I realized something.

If I pitch a complete game, I can kiss Maika nine more times today.

It’s going to happen for every game from now on.

Although for practice games, there won’t always be a bench space like this one, so we might not be able to pull this off as easily.

Damn, official games it is, then.

If I pitch four complete games out of the six in the summer prefectural tournament, that’s 36 kisses… Not enough. I need more.

If we keep winning at Koshien… I’ll get even more. I’ll get to kiss Maika more.

I have to win. I have to keep winning! I’ll win, win, and win some more, and every time I’ll steal more of Maika’s kisses.

Her lips! Her lips, which are mine and mine alone, forever!

“Baseball really is the best.”

The only downside is that I’m going to be fully aroused every time I step onto the mound. At least I’m not that big. I cried.