Win at Nationals!
Was Komaba always like this?
He's doing well.
It's just in time for the fall tournament.
Well, it's just that...
He's so intense...
Done!
Wow, I've never seen fresh bacon before!
Episode 11 Take Off Running, Hachiken
Looks pretty good.
Yeah!
The cheese and eggs are looking good, too.
What's with the cheese and eggs?
Who said you could smoke them, too?
You guys are just hopeless.
But what about you, Fuji-sensei? What's that?
It's teaching material!
I will evaluate the compatibility of fermented food products with processed meats!
You're a horrible teacher!
It's already after work hours.
Uh, you're still on school grounds.
Okay.
Let's do a taste test.
Yeah!
Yum!
The cheese is good, too.
Yeah, they're great.
Have some smoked cheese, Sensei!
It was my cheese in the first place!
Wouldn't it be even better to fry up some thick slices?
No!
We'll get fat!
Then we can fry minced garlic and rice in the bacon grease
and make soy-sauce flavored fried rice!
Bacon garlic fried rice!
Justice!
We'll get so fat!
You trying to kill us?
Unbelievable!
So good...
Really good.
Cheers!
Thanks for the food!
Why are you still here?!
Hey!
I'm here at Ezonoo for temp labor in the wheat fields.
Hey, it's Hachiken's bro!
The killer yakisoba guy!
I was just checking out where the great smell was coming from,
and look what I found!
Thanks for the great food!
Hachiken-kun made 50 kilos of bacon.
Yuugo did this?
Wow...
What? Just leave once you're done eating!
Yeah! We're having a Bacon Fest!
Mikage, I'll send some to your family, too.
They took good care of me over the summer.
Thanks!
That'll make them really happy!
I'll send Komaba's family some, too...
Oh, where's Komaba?
He must still be at practice.
I know his address.
Yuugo, send some home, to Sapporo.
Huh, why?!
I don't need to!
It's not about whether you need to or not.
It'd make our parents happy, right?
No way!
I bet they'll just think it has nothing to do with entrance exams.
They'll just throw their hands up in the air and look down on me.
Hey, it's not about entrance exams.
Show them what you're capable of!
Later.
Wait!
Empty out your pockets.
I'll be sticking around for a while.
Text me if you need anything!
I don't have your info on my phone!
H-Hey, wait!
You're not getting away!
They're very close.
Indeed.
Ooezo Agricultural High School Dormitory for Future Agriculture Managers
Bacon
All right.
Here they are.
Are they both bacon?
Both refrigerated packages, then.
Thank you.
Show them what you're capable of!
Um, may I have another shipping label?
Dairy Science
Um, can you get Hachiken-kun?
Hachiken-kun, someone's here to see you!
It's Ikeda, from Food Processing.
What is it?
Um...
C'mon, tell him.
I dunno, I'm embarrassed...
Want me to say it, then?
No, wait! I'll ask, myself!
Huh?!
What? What?
What's going on?
Um, Hachiken-kun!
Yes?
Please sell me bacon!
Yeah!
Let's go make pizza!
Damn you, Hachiken!
Damn it!
I wanna make bacon and be popular with the girls, too!
Aki, you dropped your croquette.
Hey, Hachiken here?
Give us bacon!
Now the third-years are here!
Scary!
Um, what do you mean?
We don't have money, see?
You know what we mean, don't you?
Hmm?!
R-Right!
End of the Century
Pork Bowl...
Pork Bowl!
Can we just trade you something in return?
Huh?
Strawberry Jam
Here.
This is our strawberry jam.
Veggies.
Tomato sauce.
Thanks!
Let us know next time you make bacon!
You're a hot item.
This school's so weird.
I wasn't sure I could eat 50 kilos of meat,
but I guess it won't be long before it's all gone.
If you still have some left, sell me some, too.
Oh, sure.
Maybe next time I'll buy one pig's worth and make bacon, too...
Yachiyo-sensei told me that vets work at slaughterhouses, too.
Oh, really?
They inspect animals there
to make sure that consumers are getting healthy meat.
So there are lots of kinds, huh?
Yeah, I guess there's a broad range of veterinary careers,
so I've got a lot of options!
Good luck!
Later.
You're starting in the next game, right?
Good luck.
Thanks.
Really?!
As a first-year?!
You've got no hope of hitting my pitches anymore.
I'll go to nationals and, if I'm lucky, I'll go pro.
What's wrong with being greedy?!
I'm going to reinvigorate... our business!
The school you'll be up against, Gojou, is pretty strong, right?
Yeah, they beat us and were ranked fourth last year.
You gonna be okay?
I only know how to win!
You can really count on Komaba-kun.
I wish I could be as confident as him.
Nice job!
Thanks!
You were going really fast.
Yeah.
We third-years are going to retire
after the tournament at the end of the month.
I want to go out with a bang, y'know?
I see...
Once the tournament's over, I'll have to focus on my job search.
So this is like my last hurrah.
Senpai, are you thinking of a job that involves horses?
Thanks.
Nah, I don't really care as long as it's a good job that's close-by.
Don't you have a dream or something?
Dream?
Not really.
I'm not really obsessed about anything.
If nothing else,
I want to do as little as possible.
I see...
It's super cool to find a job that suits you,
but I think it's okay to make yourself suit the job.
It's not that different from riding horses.
Horses?
It's easy to ride a horse that suits you,
but it's also fun to adjust how you ride to suit the horse.
Oh...
I thought this school was full of people
who had a clear image of what they wanted to be in the future.
That might be because our class has a lot of students
who'll succeed their family business.
I see.
I guess our senpais are starting to think about
retiring from their clubs and what they'll do next.
It's been almost six months since I came here.
That sure went by in a flash.
Did you figure out what you might want to do?
Nope!
I've just been drowning, somehow avoiding death,
while being swept along with the current.
Whether it's about Pork Bowl or my own future,
I'm just running around, lost.
I wonder where I'm headed, really...
That's not true.
I think you're moving forward.
Hello, Hachiken-kun.
Thank you for the bacon.
You had some, too?
Yes! It was delicious!
Thank you!
Oh, Inada-senpai from Food Processing helped, too.
Every time I did it, the bacon came out all lumpy.
Well, I'm humbled that you liked it.
Thank you.
Hachiken-kun, you were also apologizing when we
talked about your dreams.
Do you lack confidence?
Well, I got picked on a lot during junior high...
I couldn't cut it in college admissions prep,
so I ran away and come here. So...
So you feel negative about the idea of running away.
You may feel guilt over having run away,
but what about what happened here?
The people you've met?
How's it all been?
Were they negative experiences?
No...
It's okay to run away in order to live.
It's entirely okay.
Okay?
Yes, you're different from farm animals, who have nowhere to run.
Nowhere to run...
Besides, I'm the only child,
so if I don't carry on, the farm will go under.
I'm the only one who can carry on the business.
What should people who don't have anywhere to run do?
You mean your friends?
Er, well, um, yes...
Even though you've got your hands full,
you're worried about your friends?
Oh, I'm sorry.
I blurted out too much.
Don't be.
I think you can "blurt out" like that
because you're good at expressing yourself in words.
Some students struggle to talk about how they feel,
even though they're suffering.
If you notice anyone like that, please help them.
Don't look down on yourself for running.
Make it meaningful by making something out of it.
O-Okay.
Thank you.
I'll go back to my club now.
Hachiken-kun.
Yes?
Please get me down.
How did you get up there?
2013 High School Fall Baseball Tournament Hokkaido Tokachi Division Preliminaries
Let's have a good game!
Hey, Komaba really is on the starting lineup.
I've never been to a baseball game before.
Wow...
He has to pitch from the center of that giant place? It's so huge.
That's so much responsibility for a first-year.
I can't imagine the pressure.
Komaba's awesome.
Huh? What?
They got a hit off Komaba already?
The game's just started!
You'll have your chance!
Man, this is nervewracking.
Are you gonna last till the ninth inning?
All right, Ezonoo has a runner on first and two outs.
How's it looking?
The batter, Iwauchi, is standing strong as the count is full.
They're holding on with all they've got.
They're losing 1-0,
but maybe we can hope for a hit.
He connects!
It's a long ball!
The lead runner advances to third!
All right!
We've got a runner on second and third base!
He gets a double!
Uryuu-san, we're counting on you!
The next batter is No. 7, Uryuu-kun.
U-ryu-u! U-ryu-u!
In his first at bat, he struck out looking at three breaking balls
He hits the first pitch!
The runner from second also scores!
Yeah!
With Gojou leading 1-0 in the fourth inning,
Gojou Ezonou
Uryuu-kun's run-scoring double has given Ezonoo the lead!
Ezonoo scored another run in the fifth inning,
but Gojou returned the favor in the sixth inning...
Yeah!
Thank you!
What's wrong?
You're out if you lose even once, right?
Yeah.
And even if you make it to nationals,
what are the chances that your dreams of going pro come true?
They'd be pretty slim.
Nice job, Komaba!
We were watching you!
Oh, you came to cheer me on?
Wait, I guess you saw my pitch get hit.
I mean, it was amazing!
I don't know anything about baseball, but... it was amazing!
Yeah! Even though I messed up, our senpais sure can pick up the pieces!
Quit braggin'!
Post-game meeting time! Let's go!
'Kay!
Uryuu-san, thanks for that clutch hit.
Sure!
You'll owe me for the rest of your life!
Oh, the bus is coming.
Let's head back.
I'll jog back.
Me, too...
Me three.
I'm starving!
I wonder if Komaba's gonna pitch again in the next game.
I'm not sure.
They have an ace.
What's with everyone?
They're all fired up,
so they're gonna run back to the dorm.
Idiots!
You're not gonna join them, Beppu?
No way!
Hachiken-kun!
Make sure you save some energy for the evening stable chores!
Okay!
I have to...
I have to do something!
I want to do something!
Hachiken-san, you have a delivery.
Coming!
Bacon?
Dear, Yuugo sent us bacon.
Hello!
You have a delivery.
I knew it!
This story is a work of fiction. The people and groups are fictitious, but the themes relating to food and life are firmly based in reality. Visiting the places and facilities used as models can be dangerous and may result it contracting diseases from the animals. Please enjoy this story as a work of fiction.
Yay! New piglets!
So cute!
Yeah. It's too bad that they have to grow bigger than this.
They're all gonna become meat in a few months again...
Sensei, we all have to submit a project report in our second year, right?
Yes, you'll split up into specialized research groups and do a project.
I'd like to research whey-fed pigs.
I learned in class that if you feed pigs whey, which is a byproduct of making cheese,
they produce better-tasting meat.
Yes.
I've thought a lot about whether I should eat animals or not,
but I can't deny the fact that meat tastes good.
Still, it's an issue that I'll have to keep thinking about
if I stay in this line of business, so...
If I keep it in mind while doing what I want to do...
Like, I want to stay aware of livestock, even while I make cheese.
Ugh, I just can't explain it very well!
No, I get what you mean.
Yeah.
A cheese and meat processing tag team, huh?
Why don't we create an Ezonoo-branded pig?
Yes!
Let's not name them this time.
Yeah.
If you do, you'll just end up caring too much about them.
No, your name is Bacon!
You're going to name them again?
I am!
You're going to make yourself miserable all over again?
Sensei, you told us before
that we shouldn't get too comfortable with what we have.
It'd be easier if I could just accept
that this is how it has to be if we eat animals,
but I just can't do it!
You can't just accept and get used to that fact,
once you see these guys...
But even if you continue to grapple with this for a very long time,
you still may never arrive at a satisfactory answer.
Compared to the nervous breakdown I had in junior high,
this is an issue worth thinking about.
All right!
I'm gonna take care of you until the end, Bacon!
Man, you never learn.
You're hopeless, Hachiken-kun...
You're Pork Cutlet Bowl, Ham, Char Siu, Pork Soup, Pork Cutlet, Ginger Pork.
Now you're naming all of them?!
A serious masochist.
Idiot! You're smart, but an idiot!
C'mon, guys!
You'd better take responsibility
if none of us can eat pork anymore!
Yeah, she's right!
Take responsibility!
You'd better!
Yeah!
I... I'll let you guys have the rest of the bacon!
Yay!
Pig Pen
To be continued!!