<64> The End and the Journey Home

Chapter 64: The End and the Journey Home

That evening, everyone gathered to enjoy the barbecue that Sendo had meticulously marinated and seasoned.

"This is so good!"

"This meat is amazing! How did you make it? You're incredible!" exclaimed Takada, the team's foodie, as he devoured the meal.

"That's a secret! By the way, Takada," Sendo replied, turning to the plump teammate beside him.

"Huh? What's up?"

"I told you over the summer that you needed to lose some weight, right? How much have you shed so far?"

Takada's movements froze. "Uh... 2 kg!"

"By fall, you need to drop at least another 3 kg!" Sendo said, poking Takada's belly with a smirk.

"..."

"Well?" Sendo looked up from Takeda's stomach and noticed the dazed expression on his face.

"Don't think you can just space out and brush me off!" Sendo added.

Takada mumbled a response under his breath.

"You all are just a handful!" Sendo muttered, taking another bite.

"Sendo, of all people, has no right to say that," Fumino thought, hearing his comment.

.....

After dinner, everyone started practicing on their own as usual. Despite the exhausting match that day, no one wanted to skip batting practice.

They knew they'd be heading back to Nagano soon and wanted to make the most of their remaining time to improve.

The day's events weighed heavily on them. They had all trained so hard, and Sendo acknowledged their progress.

Yet, in the actual match, they couldn't fully show what they were capable of.

That stung the most. In the end, they had to rely on the opponent's errors and Eijun's tenacity to win.

Each player felt a fire inside, wanting to prove themselves and help Eijun more.

Fueled by various motivations, they tackled their training with renewed energy.

Sendo also made sure to limit their practice to avoid injuries from overexertion.

Later, Sendo, Wakana, and Fumino went back early to shower and relax. Around 8 p.m., they gathered in Sendo's room as they'd planned.

The others finished up their practice, bathed, and quickly headed to bed. The match had drained them mentally and physically, so they fell asleep quickly and soundly.

---

"The last few days of practice will focus only on batting and bunting. After warm-ups, that's all we'll work on!" Sendo instructed, rallying the team.

"I want you all to practice as if you're in high-pressure situations—imagine it's the final inning. When you're batting, picture a two-out, bases-loaded scenario. When you're bunting, think of a one-out, runner-on-third play. Condition yourselves to deal with pressure, even if it's just in your imagination. Got it?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Alright, let's start!"

This was Sendo's best idea for tackling the team's challenges—training their minds to handle pressure, even if they couldn't always be in actual games.

---

"Take care on the way back!" Fumino and Sendo stood across from each other at Tokyo Station, ready to part ways.

"Aki!" Fumino called out.

"Yeah?" He turned back, only to feel a sudden flash of blue as Fumino threw herself into his arms.

"..."

"You'll come back during winter break, right?" she asked, her voice muffled against his shirt.

"Yeah. We can't play games in the winter anyway. Besides, even if we could, no school would want to play practice games with a team as weak as Akagi's." Sendo's voice was soft, though his words were less than flattering.

"Promise me you'll stay in touch!"

"Didn't you message me every day even before I arrived?" Sendo teased, but quickly winced as Fumino pinched his waist.

"Ow! Okay, okay, I got it!"

"And if you can, come see our games in Nagano,"

"...Sure." Fumino mumbled, burying her face into his chest.

.....

"Fumino, can you not pinch people so suddenly? Where did you even learn that?" Sendo protested, but soon had to bite his tongue as another sharp pain struck.

"You jerk!" Fumino pulled her head back, looking furious.

"I was just stating facts! You're acting like an adult when you're still a kid, hugging someone like me, a guy—" He stopped mid-sentence, swiftly dodging her next attempt to pinch him. "A Saint won't fall for the same trick twice... or, uh, three times!"

"…"

"See you later!" he said softly, smiling as he gently patted her head. Then he turned and got on the train, where his teammates were waiting for him.

"Stop treating me like a kid! Sendo Akira, you're such a jerk!!"

Her outburst caught the attention of nearby passersby, who glanced her way, some even whispering about how young kids seemed to be so "mature" these days.

Fumino's cheeks turned redder with each stare, and she finally bolted, running away from the scene as quickly as possible.

Back on the train, Eijun laughed, nudging Sendo. "Wow, Sendo, didn't expect this from you! What's the word… Oh, right! So that's how it is, huh?" He extended his pinky finger, making the universal gesture for "girlfriend."

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