CHAPTER 46: CHAPTER 46: AWARD CEREMONY

As the venue setup was nearly complete, the stadium’s broadcast came on once again:

"Next, we will proceed with the closing ceremony of the tournament. Players, please line up quickly and wait for the ceremony to begin."

Upon hearing the broadcast reminder, Waseda Jitsugyo players quickly broke away from the afterglow of victory and rushed towards the player entrance, lining up swiftly.

As the entrance music played again, Waseda Jitsugyo’s team manager, third-year student Yuki Ono, held high the school nameplate that read "Waseda Industries" and stood at the front of the line; behind her, the players marched in orderly steps towards the area behind the home plate.

Once both teams stood with their backs towards the home plate, the first segment of the closing ceremony began — Fujii Bunyu, the then-President of the Tokyo High School Baseball Federation, gave remarks on the tournament’s games and expressed his congratulations.

The main content of his speech was understood by everyone; it was no different from the speeches in usual meetings, mostly consisting of dull clichés—first greeting the audience, then reviewing the tournament, praising the behind-the-scenes staff, and lastly commending the players from various schools for their wonderful games—essentially just this routine.

Ordinarily, the Waseda players would have been dozing off by now—after all, having just finished a game, they were already exhausted, and who would want to listen to speeches under the blazing sun?

But today was different: this time, they were there to receive awards as victors — the praise Fujii Bunyu gave to the players, wasn’t it directed at us, the ones on the field?

Therefore, during this speech, the Waseda players listened with seriousness and occasionally had delighted smiles on their faces.

After Fujii Bunyu finished his speech, the climax of today’s West Tokyo Conference finally arrived: next was the awards ceremony!

Amidst the broadcast announcement, enthusiastic applause erupted from the stands; from the Waseda Industries section, there was a huge cheer.

In the line, the entire Waseda team was invigorated, with everyone’s eyes drawn to the flag in Fujii Bunyu’s hand, unable to look away.

It was the championship flag of the West Tokyo Conference: the bright red flag bore several white Chinese characters signifying its identity — "Asahi Shimbun Company," "National High School Baseball Championship," "West Tokyo Conference";

The center of the flag depicted an image of an olive and a ribbon, with the shimmering word "Champion" on either side of the olive branch; atop the ribbon’s center lay the Latin phrase "VICTORIBUS PALMAE," meaning "To the victors, the palm."

On Waseda’s side, the captain, Suzuki Kensuke, standing at the far left of the lineup, stepped forward, jogging up with a serious expression, and then stood before Fujii Bunyu, who held the champion flag.

Even Suzuki Kensuke, usually reserved and impassive, felt his heartbeat quicken and throat tighten at this moment — this scene had appeared countless times in his dreams over the past three years.

President Fujii Bunyu held the champion flag high and handed it over with a smile: "Congratulations to you all!"

"Thank you!" Suzuki Kensuke solemnly stepped forward, grasping the flagpole with both hands, and accepted the champion flag.

The moment he received the flag, Suzuki Kensuke felt his hands sink, and his heart suddenly trembled.

The flagpole felt icy and cold, not only that, but it was also heavy—yet he knew this was the weight of the championship, the weight of a dream held by all high school students in Tokyo.

Suppressing the surge of excitement within, Suzuki Kensuke bowed to President Fujii Bunyu in gratitude, then turned to the supporters in the stands and bowed again in thanks.

Returning to his team, everyone fixed their almost greedy gaze on Suzuki Kensuke, smiling foolishly as they watched.

Next was the awarding of the runner-up trophy.

Different from other competitions where there might be no reward, in the West Tokyo Conference, even the runner-up receives a metal trophy for consolation, although the recipients might not feel consoled.

As the captain of Nihon University Tsurugaoka, Ogaki Yuichi accepted the award on behalf of the team.

Unlike Suzuki Kensuke’s joy, Ogaki Yuichi’s face showed nothing but sorrow, reflecting the sentiment of most of the Nihon University Tsurugaoka team members.

After experiencing what could be described as a nightmarish game, having given so much effort, is there really anyone who can say, "I have no regrets because I did my best"?

Probably, for these Nihon University Tsurugaoka players, it will take a considerable time to digest the bitter result of this loss...

While carrying the silver trophy back to the line, Ogaki Yuichi couldn’t help but steal a glance in the direction of Waseda, seeing the joy on the opponents’ faces, seeing the brilliant champion flag glittering in the sunlight.

Ah, it truly is beautiful.

The following segments still belonged to the victors — Besides receiving the region’s champion flag, Waseda also collected the shield and certificate for the victory in this game.

As the starting pitcher and catcher of the game, Tsuchiya Ryota and Lin Guanglai were selected as the team’s award representatives.

They walked out of the lineup, proceeded forward, and with both hands received the victory certificate and shield from President Fujii Bunyu, then returned to the lineup cheerfully.

Feeling the weight of the gold champion shield in his hands, Lin Guanglai felt a sense of honor.

Next, President Fujii Bunyu awarded Nihon University Tsurugaoka the runner-up certificate and the silver runner-up shield—though it was, more or less, an honor for the school and team, Lin Guanglai still felt this part of the process was somewhat cruel to the opponents, like rubbing salt in their wounds.

The final item of the closing ceremony was the medal award ceremony — every member on the official roster could receive a champion medal, a treasure they could cherish for a lifetime.

The players took off their caps and bowed their heads, waiting for the president to place the medal on them—a smooth sensation as the red ribbon was hung around their necks, followed by the weight of the medal.

The shining medal on their chest seemed to constantly remind the Waseda team:

"Ah, we are the winners, we are the champions! This is real, it’s not a dream!"

When the closing ceremony ended, the players could finally unleash their nature on the field—senior players rushed to Izumi Minoru, standing on the edge of the lineup, lifting the amiable old man in his sixties or seventies before he could react.

Laughing and joking, they tossed him several times before finally putting him down.

"You rascals, when we get back, double the training load for tomorrow!!!" regained Izumi Minoru, still in shock, while straightening his messed-up clothes, mockingly scolded.

After a while of uproar, at the call of Asahi Shimbun reporters, the entire Waseda team gathered near the home plate, standing in two rows to prepare for a commemorative photo.

"One, two..."

"Cheese!!!"

With everyone’s shout, the 90th National High School Baseball Championship West Tokyo Conference came to a close.