82. Corners

Rei got ready after making his daily run and got out of the house with Sora. He reached school and separated their ways, Rei making his way to class. He sat on his seat and noticed Mizuki and Keiko were late than him.

He took out a book from his bag and started reading it. Rei also had a hobby of ready stories of every genre, mainly fantasy. As he read he heard the teacher come in and kept it back inside. He noticed Mizuki and Keiko in their seats breathing heavily and understood they rushed in.

The classes continued as Rei paid attention like always. The bell finally rang, showing it was already lunchtime. He kept his books back inside and took out his lunch. He looked up and noticed Mizuki and Keiko placing their boxes on the bench and taking the chairs near his place.

"So why were you both so late today?"

"She woke up late today," said Mizuki, pointing at Keiko with her chopsticks.

Rei turned towards Keiko, who answered, "I slept late yesterday. I didn't notice the time till it crossed midnight while drawing."

Rei shook his head, and all three of them started eating and talking about different things. Rei smiled, thinking about his peaceful time as he saw both of his friends. Lunch ended and classes continued on until we heard the freedom bell showing classes were over.

Rei made his way to the club as he separated himself from Mizuki and Keiko. He saw a few already changing their clothes and silently went to his locker. He understood as he saw the players present that he did not know many people in the team.

He changed his clothes and came out thinking he had time to know the rest. He waited outside for the other people to get ready and Akira to start the exercises. After all of them formed a line, Akira started the daily warm-up.

After that one was done all of them grouped near Iwata for further instructions.

"Ok, you guys can continue what you were doing yesterday." making all of them disperse.

Rei wore his gear. He went towards the bullpen and saw Suzaku talking with the coach. He went near them and stood beside Suzaku.

"Listen here Suzaku, the most important thing in pitching to spot or the corners is conviction. You should always stay convicted and not escape from any batter. If you have this and completely concentrate on pitching, you can do it.

You should also be able to visualize the pitch before you even throw it. Train visually and mentally when you are free. Also, remember that pitching accurately is never a quick process. You both have 5 months before the first tournament so take it slow."

Suzaku nodded, and Rei went to his position to catch. He got into position and stretched his hands. Suzaku nodded and Rei gave a simple pitch right down the middle for the first one.

Suzaku nodded and pitched it right down the middle. Rei got up and threw it back. He sat down and gave it again, right down the middle. After a couple more and observing he is good today, he gave it to the corner.

Suzaku concentrated harder, noticing Rei finally changing his target. He slowly pitched the ball, and it broke to the right as soon as it came nearer, going to an extreme ball. Rei slowly caught it, but it was beyond what he could frame.

Rei threw the ball back and Iwata who was observing spoke up, "Suzaku calm your breathing. If you get anxious, your pitching won't be any good either. So calm it down."

Suzaku took a deep breath to calm down and exhaled, slowing his heartbeat down. He looked at Rei's placement once again and this time it was to the low right corner. He once again slowly got to his form and pitched the ball.

This time the ball went straight but broke to the left the last second. Rei could catch it and threw it back.

"Ok that one was better, continue throwing more so your mind can relax. Take breaks for every 15 pitches." and walked away.

Seeing the coach go away, both of them continued to pitch, and they sat down when Suzaku pitched 15.

"Senpai when will we have some practice matches." Rei was keen to play in some matches. He knew now he should gain more experience and play against various players out there if he wants to improve further.

"The coach will probably have some practice matches when he thinks we are ready. So don't worry about it right now."

Rei nodded and understood the team is currently taking it's form and needs more time to build a more solid one. He wanted to improve his batting more and help the team in any way possible and not only be a catcher.

The break was done, and they got back to their practice. Suzaku continued to throw more and more pitches while taking a break occasionally for every 15 pitches. His pitches were far from being consistent.

If he felt he was better Rei would change it and it would get worse again. He sometimes felt frustrated by the continuous control problem he was having but kept his cool. Rei was slowly understanding him more and more than he practiced with him.

Iwata came back as the time was nearing its end for the day and observed some pitches before calling it off. Rei slowly went back into the lockers and changed his clothes. He told goodbye to Suzaku and Akira before making his way to the gate.

He met up with Mizuki and Keiko and trudged back home. As they walked home, he saw a park and stopped in his tracks. He slowly sat on a swing. Seeing him missing, Mizuki and Keiko looked around and noticed him on the swing.

Both of them sighed and went after him. Both of them took a place beside him on each swing and slowly played with it.

"Do you want to talk about anything Rei?" asked Keiko after a while.

"No, it's nothing, I just felt like coming here and sitting for some time," said Rei, looking at the parents taking their kids home.

He felt nostalgic when he thought about when he was small and Tensei used to bring him to the parks to have fun. This happens sometimes to Rei as he sees small kids and imagines himself.

Rei could only wipe the slight tear off his face and stand up. Mizuki and Keiko saw him wiping the tear-off but did not ask him, as they knew he wouldn't tell them yet.

"Come, let's go home, its becoming late," said Rei as he walked out.

Both of them followed him behind and they did not speak a word until they reached the junction they had to separate.

"Rei if you ever need to talk about something remember we are there for you," said Mizuki as they went their separate ways.

Keiko by her side also nodded conveying the same thing and Rei smiled at his friend's concern and said, "Sure." before walking away.

Rei reached home and took a quick bath before going into the hall. He noticed Shidou watching some news and sat beside him.

"Oh, Rei, your back."

"Yes, old man."

"How is your training going on?"

"It's been going well. I am learning new things and am practicing with the pitcher."

"That's good, try to have more fun ok. Don't always think about winning, it is more about having fun."

Rei nodded as he listened to him. Suddenly he got up from his seat as he heard the doorbell ring. He opened the door and saw Sora.

"Did you forget your keys?"

"Yeah, I forgot them this morning," said Sora as he came in.

Rei closed the door, and he heard Sora asking, "How was your training today?"

"It was good. We practiced using the corners as a weapon to use. Senpai's control is poor but I feel it will get better as we practice."

"Yes Suzaku has good speed but his poor control is very tough on him. If he controls it, he can be scooted more."

Rei suddenly remembered when he heard scouts and asked, "Did you get any offers till now."

"Yah I did last year from some small ones, but I will probably get the big ones this year if I perform at the same level."

Rei nodded and both of them went towards the dining hall as they heard Narumi calling for them. After having his dinner and completing his homework, Re got to his form of training. He could stay for 3 hours and 40 minutes before he fell.

He got on his bed as he noticed the time and massaged his legs. He then turned the lights off and drifted off to sleep.