2 days passed quickly and eventually, I finally stood at the entrance of Seido High School.
"Come on, Sawamura. I'll show you around." Rei said, walking towards the baseball fields.
I followed closely behind.
We eventually ended up on the field surrounded by players doing their own training.
DING
DING
DING
Loads of them were doing batting practise, the sounds of the metal bats ringing around the field.
Players were shouting out to each other with high intensity, I can almost see a red shaded mist around them all when as I felt the tension.
I grinned with absolute glee, but my eyes showed a rising fire, practically surging as I continued to watch the players train.
"Amazing." I said with my fists clenched.
Rei, who noticed this, asked. "Like it? This is our prestigious baseball practise field." She then pointed in the direction of some buildings across the way. "We have an indoor practise area over there that I'll show you later. As well as the dorm building which most of a students choose to live at during their time here."
"Do you get a lot of people from other prefectures joining the school as well?" I asked.
"Yes, that's right. I'd say around half our members are from outside the prefecture. They're here to play baseball abroad, so to speak." She replied. "This is the age when Japanese high school baseball is known to be the best in the world, and some scouts come from the major league to invite players to their teams. 'I want to be the best baseball player, ever.' 15-year-old boys leave home for the purpose of honing their abilities. I respect all players who have that determination and aspiration."
"Yeah, I can see that by just watching them train. The tension they bring is intense and just the kind of environment I want to be a part of." I replied.
"OI KAWAKAMI!! Are you kidding me?" A loud shout broke my concentration as I turned to the voice.
Stood not too far away was a tall guy, very large in size with sharp curving eyebrows and a wide mouth that was fully open shouting at Kawakami Norifumi, one of the 3 main pitchers in 'Ace of the Diamond' after Sawamura and Furuya.
The big guy pointed his bat towards Kawakami and continued to shout insults at him.
"You throw like a girl! How about you pitch with some feeling? You're already tired? This is why you can't make the team!"
Kawakami, who was breathing deeply, obviously exhausted, bowed slightly. "I'm sorry."
"Azuma senpai's at it again, huh?" One of the team players said.
"He shows no mercy once he gets his eyes on someone." Someone else replied.
I kept my eyes towards the one they called Azuma senpai as he continued.
"If you don't want to get better, then go back to your mummy! We've got plenty of pitchers to replace you!" He said.
"I want to get better." Kawakami responded.
"Then give it your best shot!" Azuma said.
"You should take a look at his batting." Rei said from behind me. "That's Kiyokuni Azuma, a monster with 42 home runs in his high school career. He's one of the players who'll be drafted this year."
"So, he's going pro." I said with a determined tone and a slight grin on my face.
Rei smiled when she saw this.
'He's not in awe after the knowledge of Azuma going pro. He actually looks like he wants to battle him.' She thought.
As she thought this, Azuma winded up is bat as Kawakami threw another pitch at him.
He swung through with a mighty velocity I sent me chills.
DOOONG
The ball was blasted into the air and out of the park in an instant.
"Ahhhh, it's like I'm swinging through air! You're gonna make my skills rust like that! Kawakami! You're done! Get off the mound! Someone carry him out! Put him in a cardboard box and send him home! Hahaha." Azuma started to shout at Kawakami again.
"What do you think of him?" Rei asked me with interest.
"He's obviously a good player, the definition of clean-up batter with a swing like that. And I understand about him being harsh to his teammates to get them more motivated to do better. But, considering he's about to go pro, he should mature a little and focus on his training instead of hazing and trash talking an already exhausted pitcher, especially one that's on your team." I replied.
'I want to go against even if it's just once.' I thought.
*DING*
[User has triggered an optional mission.]
My eyes widened in surprise from the sudden mission.
[Optional Mission: Strike Out Kiyokuni Azuma.
Task: Strike out Kiyokuni Azuma in 1 at bat.
Rewards:
>1 random B-grade elixir
>1 silver tier Lottery ticket
>15 Ace points
Punishment if failed:
>User will not be eligible for any more rewards from the system from the end of the mission till the start of high school.
Accept: Yes/No]
'Holy shit, a mission coming up here? And those rewards are insane. But oooft that punishment is insane too. Hmmmmm….' I went deep into my thoughts as I thought about the pros and cons.
'Wait, why am I hesitating right now?' I slapped myself in the face with both hands.
This caused Rei to look at me with concern as she had no idea why I would do that suddenly.
This also caught the attention of another person, someone who had been silently listening in on their conversation from the beginning with interest.
"Pffff." I drew a deep breath out. When I opened my eyes, the fire in them was blazing with ferociousness.
'I'm never going to hesitate. If I want to be the Ace and eventually go pro, I can't hesitate.'
"Rei-Sensei." I said in a calm and determined voice. "Can I have one at bat against Azuma senpai?"
Rei snapped her head at me in surprise.
The other person listening also perked up when I said this, a wide grin spread on his face.
"What?" She asked.
"Please, let me have one at bat with him. I want to see how my pitching fares against top tier batter in high school. Plus, this will be my only chance to go up against him as he will have graduated by the time I come to the school." I replied to her.
Rei was silent for a while after I said this.
"Come on, just one at bat. Aren't you also interested yourself about how my pitching is after the improvements I've made." I turned to look her dead in the eyes as I said this.
She could see the fire that was blazing in my eyes.
"You know, I haven't pitched against a batter since the game you saw. I've been itching to have a good battle to test my limits before I start high school." I continued. "You can even say something like 'he's from the countryside so he's completely clueless about the real world. Do you mind showing what batting is all about?' or something like that. I'm sure he would agree." I said with a wide grin on my face.
Rei looked very torn. She stood there for at least 15 seconds debating whether she should indulge in the request.
Soon after, she let out a deep sigh.
"Fine, just this once, okay? And just one at bat, nothing more. Now, get changed quickly" She said as walked over to Azuma.
"Pffft." I started giggling as I clicked the yes option on the mission.
'This is going to be fun' I thought.
"Hehe. This sounds like a lot of fun." A voice suddenly said from behind me.
I turned around to see a boy spinning a baseball on his finger, he was dressed in seido's uniform, sitting on the ground.
He had slightly long brown hair with a baseball cap slightly twisted to the side.
He was wearing a pair of sports glasses over his dark brown eyes.
'Miyuki Kazuya! Holy shit, Miyuki Kazuya in the flesh.' I thought. 'Finally, we meet. Let's get on well, future partner.'
"Ahhh! You're Miyuki Kazuya! The starting catcher for the team as a freshman!" I exclaimed in shock.
"Ooooh. So, you know who I am." Miyuki said as he got up, wiping the dirt from his legs and started walking over.
"What happened to the guy from the countryside that didn't know anything about the real world, huh?" He asked with a tone of cheekiness.
"Pfffttt" I could only chuckle at that question. "I had to think of something to get Rei-Sensei to let me go against Azuma senpai. To be honest, I didn't think she would allow it even after I said it."
"Hehe, you're not wrong." Miyuki replied whilst chuckling. "Rei-chan wouldn't do this unless she was indeed interested in how your pitching would be against Azuma senpai. You must have impressed her a lot for her to do this. What's your name?"
"Sawmura, Sawamura Eijun. And I think so." I said as I started to get changed into one of the spare uniforms. "But I've only met her once, she only really saw my form and fastball, she didn't even see my improved cutter." I continued.
"Improved cutter huh?" Miyuki said.
'Ok, now I'm really interested in this kid. Rei-chan only saw his fastball and still scouted him for Seido. I want to catch his pitches.' He thought.
"What are you doing here Miyuki?" Rei said as she walked back towards us with Azuma in tow.
"Ah Rei-chan, can I catch his pitch?" Miyuki asked Rei with a cheeky grin whilst pointing at me.
"Eh? You want to catch for Miyuki senpai?" I asked in surprise.
"Of course. I'm interested in your pitches." He replied. "Of course, I also wanted to go against Azuma senpai before he left to go pro." He continued with a chuckle.
"Oi Miyuki! You're just a first year! Don't get cocky!" Azuma said to him.
"Hahah, well, excuse my rudeness." Miyuki said to him.
I walked over to Azuma to stand in front of him.
I then bowed deeply.
"Thank you for taking the time out of your training to help a useless pitcher from the countryside indulge in his fantasies of going against a top tier batter that will turn pro, Azuma senpai! I'm deeply honoured to have a match against you!" I said in a loud voice that it picked up a lot of attention from the players on the field.
Azuma looked at me in utter confusion from my sudden outburst.
He then composed himself to reply. "Ahem! Of course, that's the kind of role model player I am. Haha! Hey Miyuki, you should learn to respect your seniors like this guy right here." He said turning to Miyuki.
I also turned to Miyuki whilst still in a crouched position, which made him look at me.
I then gave him a wink and a wide grin, turn back towards the ground.
Seeing this, Miyuki couldn't hold himself back.
"Pffffft hahahaha!!!" He started bursting out laughing. "Rei-chan you've really brought an interesting kid this year. This guy is hilarious!"
Rei, who also saw the whole interaction, slightly sighed.
Azuma, who didn't see the interaction, was left confused.
"Oi Miyuki!! Stop laughing! There's nothing funny about giving respect! This guy is gonna make it further in life than you if you don't get your act together." He said whilst pointing at me.
"Thank you for your kind words, Azuma senpai! I wish for us to have a good battle. I will do my absolute best! As I hope you will do the same!" I said to Azuma.
"Hahah, of course kid! Let's get this started." Azuma said with a happy expression as he patted me on the shoulder and walked away towards the batter's box.
"Pffft." I couldn't hold back any longer and let out a light chuckle.
"Hahaha, you really buttered him up Sawamura." Miyuki said as he was putting on his catching gear.
"Of course." I replied. "It's a strategy. He now thinks of me a clueless countryside pitcher that has no intention of winning which will make him take it easy on the first pitch. Then when he sees the danger of my pitch after the first strike, he will be completely thrown of his game."
"Hahaha looks like you thought ahead." Miyuki replied as he finished his putting on his gear.
"Sawamura, go up to the mound for a minute. I need to talk to Miyuki for a second." Rei said to me.
I gave her an okay sign and started walking towards the mound.
****
Rei turned to Miyuki.
"Miyuki, I'm glad you volunteered." She said to him. She then turned to the back of Sawamura walking towards the mound.
"His pitches are a bit peculiar. But they are incredibly lethal." She continued.
"Ehh?" Miyuki replied in confusion.
"When I first saw his pitching, I thought it was mediocre at best. He himself didn't know what he had or how to use it all the way through junior high school. He only finally realised what direction he needed to go on the last pitch of his last game." Rei said. "After figuring out what he needed to do, he spent just over a week to completely focus on grasping that idea he had in his head. He dropped absolutely everything to improve, and when I saw him next, he was like a completely different player."
Miyuki looked a bit shocked at her words. 'A week's worth of training could change a player completely to the point that Rei-chan is giving this sort of speech.' He thought with interest.
"The only issue is, he's been completely alone in this process. He was using a makeshift mound and strike zone in his back yard, grasping at the idea in his head. Even in junior high, his catcher couldn't catch his pitches, so Sawamura had to tone it down to get a called strike." Rei said. "He has never had a proper partner to help him on the mound."
She turned towards Miyuki. "You think you can help him draw out his potential?" She asked with a slight smirk.
Miyuki looked at her for a couple of seconds.
"Heeeeh? Big praise coming from you. My interest is peaked." Miyuki replied with a cheeky grin on his face. "You must have high hopes for this kid."
"Oi! Miyuki senpai! Let me get some warmup pitches in before we start." A loud shout came across the field.
They both turned towards the voice to see Sawamura standing on the mound giving a big wave with a huge grin on his face.
"Alright, I'm coming! Hold your horses, we're in no rush!" Miyuki replied as he started walking over to the home plate.
He got into a crouch position and held out his glove, ready for Sawamura's first warm up pitch.