Chapter 23 : Future Development Paths for Pitchers
For them, the door to enter the first team was basically closed. They had no business on the team anymore, and no one would blame them if they chose not to come and focused on their university entrance test. However, out of the dream set together with Tetsu and the other third-year players on the first team when they just came to the Seido, they decided to still be there as the team's supporting system and helped the new players to get accustomed to their new role as quickly as possible.
Their dedication touched everyone on the team and made the second-year players who were not chosen feel embarrassed at the same time. If those who had no obligation still came and helped, what reason did they have to be lazy?
The same change of attitude also occurred in the first-year players. Even though they were still at the bottom tier of the team and wouldn't have a chance to show off their improvement for a while, that didn't mean they would fall into laziness. On the other hand, after seeing three players manage to advance through the first team, they had more motivation to do better than before.
And one of them who had the biggest mindset and attitude change was Tojo.
"Come on, Rookie! Your splitter is too weak! It didn't even break! Throw it again!"
"Yes, Senpai"
Toko wiped out the sweat on his temple, taking a deep breath before throwing another ball. And unsurprisingly, Ishashiki who was on the box slammed it far once again until it disappeared from his line of sight.
"Good job!" Ishashiki nodded in a satisfied manner. "That was better than your pitch before! Now, let's work on a trickier route. Let's test your control first."
"Yes, Sir!"
"Okay, let's start with low outside! Come on!"
The other who saw Tojo being tortured by Ishashiki could only pity the pitcher. However, little did they know that this training was held by Tojo's initiative after his conversation with Ishashiki and Hiroto last night.
-A little flashback-
"Senpai, can I join your training session?"
It was in the evening after the official training was over and Hiroto was about to go for an extra training when Tojo suddenly asked him. Normally, Hiroto would agree to his request easily as he was happy to see the team grow stronger. However, this time was different.
"Even though I am happy to see you determined like this, unfortunately, this wasn't just about us. But I don't think they would have any objection for you to join. Come with me, you better ask them yourself." Tojo followed Hiroto as they both went to one of the dugouts. There, Tojo could see Ishashiki and Sawamura exchanging a heated conversation.
"I said it, Brat! That was a weak ball! Don't try to throw a fastball, you are not built for it!"
"Gah! Can you just let me do it for once?! Is this what bullying a junior looks like?!"
"Shut up! Throw the ball again! I will send it far outside this time!"
"Don't think you can do it easily, Spitz-senpai!"
Tojo had his jaw dropped at the conversation between those two. In his mind, Sawamura had already broken all the rules and boundaries of how to treat a senpai with respect. If it was him, he wouldn't dare to do so. However, why was their senpai like him with this kind of attitude?
Seeing the puzzled expression on Tojo's face, Hiroto knew what he was thinking. "Don't misunderstand him for being rude and disrespectful to Ishashiki-senpai. That was just Sawamura-kun's way of interacting with him. Deep down, Sawamura respects and even worships his senpai as if they were the second coming of Buddha." Hiroto chuckled. Tojo could only nod numbly, still staring at Sawamura as if he were an alien.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Go there, ask Ishashiki-senpai!"
Tojo gulped before nodding his head nervously. In the eyes of the first-year, Ishashiki was in the same tier as Tetsu and Ryousuke. They had a mighty image, unapproachable, and had their own circles that no newcomers could enter.
However, they were wrong in this regard. In fact, those three were the most approachable out of all the senpai on the team. That was because they came as a mediocre player and had to sweat more than any players to climb up their way until reaching the top. Compared to talented or a well-trained player like Chris, Miyuki, Tanba, or Kuramochi, they were more willing to share their rich experience with the newcomers.
And right to his predicament, Hiroto could see Tojo's eyes lighten up as he spoke with Ishashiki. Sawamura took this chance to take a breath and approached him.
"Hiroto-senpai, did you bring Tojo here?"
"Yeah." Hiroto nodded. "Why? Are you worried he will be better?" He asked teasingly.
"No way! This Sawamura Eijun is not that coward! He will face everyone who wants to shake his opponent!" Hiroto chuckled, still a bit baffled by Sawamura's weird archaic accent.
"Well, that's good. We have never had a pool of talented pitchers before. Now that your generation has you, Furuya, and Tojo, Seido's next three years might be better than in the past. A healthy competition between you all would be good for your future."
Sawamura nodded, knowing that Hiroto was right. He could feel it too. When he was in Nagano, all he focused on was how to throw the ball to the strike zone. However, since he joined Seido, he realized that wasn't enough. There were a lot of people who could do the same or better, so he had to think of a way to stand out higher than the other pitchers.
And no matter how much he wanted to deny it, one of the reasons why he was eager to develop his unique pitching style was to rub on Furuya's face that he had better control than the monster pitcher. Sometimes, getting under your rival's skin is a good motivation to improve yourself.
"Oi, Hiroto! Sawamura! Come here!" Isashiki's voice snapped their conversation. When Hiroto turned around, he could see his senpai was in deep conversation with Tojo. Out of curiosity, he asked immediately, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Ishashiki replied. "I just explained the available path for a new pitcher to choose. Having another perspective would be good for him."
"Eh?! What do you mean by path?" Sawamura asked confusedly. "Why don't you tell me anything about that?"
The corner of Ishashiki's mouth twitched a little, showing a hint of annoyance. Fortunately, he had a huge patience with his kouhai as he replied, "Of course, I didn't tell you anything, you Brat! You didn't give me a chance at all! You always said pitching is your life, so I thought your path is obvious, a pure pitcher."
Sawamura stared at his senpai blankly. "I don't understand."
Ishashiki could only sigh before he turned to Hiroto, asking silently for him to explain. Having no choice here, the second-year right fielder smiled wryly before explaining, "Well, basically, there are three paths for a new pitcher to choose. The first one is the pure pitcher, where your main focus is just to hone your pitch to reach its best potential. That is what you do, Sawamura-kun."
"Um." His kouhai nodded as if he gained something.
"The second one is a two-way player. If you choose this path, your responsibility wouldn't just end on the mound, but you also had to bring up a good result on the batter box. This is a role for an all-around player, so if your pitching or your batting ability is not that good enough, I don't recommend you to choose this, because you will have a hard time focusing on whether to train the pitching or batting. It would only harm your development."
"By the way, it is the path that Furuya-kun chooses." Ishashiki suddenly added, grinning evilly as he poured oil into the fire.
"SAY WHAT?!" As expected, Sawamura shrieked dramatically as if he were offended by Ishashiki's words. "You mean that that sleepy-eyes bastard is more all-arounder than this Nagano pitcher?! Mu mu mu…!! We cannot let it slide that easily! Senpai, I will also choose that path too!"
Hiroto who knew any topic about Furuya would trigger this kind of reaction from Sawamura groaned, giving Ishashiki stinky eyes. The senpai himself just sent him a gloated smile as if he was ready for a good show.
For the two who had interacted a lot with Sawamura, they could only smile wryly and even amusedly at the exaggerated reaction from their kouhai. But Tojo, he had his jaw dropped, too stunned at how casual the interaction between Sawamura and the two senpai was. He had a cold sweat on his back, couldn't imagine anyone from the first year who was bold enough to do the same. However, since he didn't understand the dynamic between those three, he chose to remain silent while observing their conversation more.
"Well, Sawamura-kun, for one, more all-arounder is not a word, okay?" Hiroto smiled wryly. "And didn't you hear my explanation before? If you are only good at one but still stubborn enough to try the two-way player role, it would hinder your progress as your pitcher. Miyuki had already talked to Furuya-kun about this, and since he was good enough on the mound and the box, Furuya had no problem choosing this path. But can you say the same for yourself?"
"This…" Sawamura hesitated a little, throwing away his face. "This is not fair! I heard he is also the same as me, and had never received any formal training before. But why does our talent seem like heaven and earth?! God is so unfair!" He whined childishly. Having enough of his bratty attitude, Ishashiki smacked Sawamura's back pretty hard, causing Hiroto and Tojo to wince a little.
"Ouch! What the hell, Senpai?!"
"Enough of your whining!" The third-year outfielder scolded. "Everyone has a different path and different talent! Rather than comparing yourself all the time to the thing you don't have, it's better to think of how to make your strength useful! Train better, brat!"
"I know! No need to hit me like that!"
"You dare to talk back?! Let me show you how to respect your senpai!"
Hiroto chuckled as he saw Ishashiki and Sawamura entangled against each other. With how close they were and how similar they acted, the non-baseball students often mistook them as siblings. This had been the object of teasing on the team for a while, and of course, Hiroto was a part of it.
Inwardly though, Hiroto was happy when he saw the change of expression not only on Sawamura's but also Tojo's face. Grievance caused by jealousy among teammates was like a match in the middle of the forest. It wasn't that big at first, but if no one noticed it, it could cause a huge problem in the future.
Even though right now no one from the first year made a fuss, that was only because they were still new on the team. Once they were in their second year and had more voice, trouble would occur, especially toward the talented players of their generation. Hiroto was one of the victims of that kind of trouble alongside with Miyuki as they both joined the first team smoothly. Until now, he could still hear the voices from the others talking shit about him, and it bothered him sometimes.
According to his senpai, this problem happens every year. For the generation above him, it was Chris and Tanba who were the object of jealousy. Weirdly enough, the people who always talked behind the back were always the ones who weren't serious about baseball. Once they were not selected for the first team in their second year, they gave up completely and disappeared from the team.
Once Hiroto asked why the coach let this problem run wildly, his senpai just shrugged it out as if it was nothing. According to them, Kataoka-sensei said if facing that low pressure was enough to break a player, then the player wasn't ready for the team. He didn't take it seriously, thinking that was how his players competed against each other.
Recalling the memory of that conversation, Hiroto couldn't help but furrow his brows.
To be honest, this was the thing he didn't understand why his sensei decided to do that. If this was a professional team, that kind of approach might be acceptable. However, Seidou was just a high school, and Kataoka-sensei was not just the coach, but also a teacher. If anything happened that could affect the students' mental health, he would be the first one to be blamed by the outside world.
'Well, whatever.' Hiroto shook his head, snapping him from his thoughts. 'Why would I overthink this situation, just do what I can do, protect Furuya-kun and probably Sawamura-kun from suffering jealousy from the others, and let God do the rest.'
"So, what is the last path?" Sawamura asked curiously after escaping from Ishashiki's strangle.
"The last path is the one any pitchers reluctantly took yet was proven to be the most common path taken in the history." Hearing that, Sawamura leaned his body forward, a hint of interest on his face. "That path is just to give up as a pitcher and start over as the fielder."
There was an awkward silence for a moment as Sawamura's jaw dropped, not expecting this path at all. Once he gained his consciousness back, he shrieked out loud, "EEEEH?!!!"
"Use the indoor voice, Brat!" Ishashiki hit Sawamura's head once again, cringed as his kouhai's voice echoed throughout the dugout.
"B-Bu-But senpai.. He said… He said…" Sawamura stuttered, his head couldn't process the information. Ishashiki sighed, knowing where the problem lay,
"What's wrong with giving up a position, Brat?" He asked, trying to make it casual. "You have to know that while everyone wants to be one, not all of them are fit to stand on the mound. Do you know how many pitchers joined Seidou every year?"
Sawamura shook his head confusedly, not knowing where the conversation went.
"About 7 or 8 new pitchers joined Seidou every year, yet usually, only 1 or 2 were patient enough to last long until Kataoka-sensei noticed their progress. A lot of them usually gave up before the fall tournament, and for the ones who were patient yet not good enough, their fate was worse. They couldn't meet Kataoka-sensei's strict standard and would never be able to play like us."
"That bad?!" Now, not only Sawamura, but Tojo also gasped in shock. Even though Ishashiki had already explained this to him before, this detail was left behind by the senpai.
"Otherwise, why do you think with Seidou's reputation, we could only have one Tanba and one Kawakami before your generation came?" Ishashiki shrugged helplessly. "Everyone wants to be on the field, so sooner or later, the untalented one would give up the position for a better chance in the future, and there is nothing wrong with that. Hiroto and I were also among the players who gave up at that time."
"Even you?!"
"Don't look at us like that," Hiroto said helplessly. "I don't know about Ishashiki-senpai, but when we first came, I was desperate enough to gain the coach's acknowledgment and get the sports scholarship. And what is the best way to attract the attention of the higher-ups other than by standing in the limelight? But 4 home runs in a row knocked down my ego instantly. Even with Miyuki's amazing guidance, I couldn't do anything on the mound. Fortunately, my performance as a batter was enough for me to gain Kataoka-sensei's interest."
"Enough?" Ishashiki snorted. "You blasted away Tanba's best curveball twice in a row, and the first foul was debatable. It only missed an inch or two from the foul zone. Even though we were unwilling, we could recognize talent when we saw one."
Sawamura and Tojo had their jaws dropped, not expecting their kind and polite senpai would be a monster from day one.
"As for me, I came here as a baseball idiot, just like Sawamura right now." Ishashiki laughed. "But the difference is I don't have the talent of being a pitcher. It took me almost a year to realize that, and fortunately, that time was enough for me to re-learn the other position and climb up my way to the top until this point."
Even though he said it with a joke, it wasn't enough to lift up the heavy mood in the air. Sawamura still had the confusion and reluctance expression on his face, couldn't understand how people could give up on being a pitcher.
"Look, Sawamura." Hiroto sighed. "I know how you feel about being a pitcher, but you have to understand. Everyone wanted to play, and only one could stand on the mound. Not everyone is like you, Tojo-kun, or even Furuya-kun, full of talent. For us ordinary people, it is either being stubborn and only seeing the game from far away bitterly or giving up and starting to re-learn everything from scratch for a better chance in the future. Don't look at us giving up as a sign of cowardly. Believe me, taking that decision was a heartache for us."
Seeing the unresponsive Sawamura, Hiroto could only shrug his shoulder helplessly, asking for Ishashiki's help. However, his senpai just shook his head gently, asking him to let Sawamura process the thought alone. Hiroto sighed, finally gave up on Sawamura, and turned around to Tojo again.
"The reason we tell you this is not to give you pressure but to let you know that there is another option here. If you know what you want, it would be good, as you will have a direction in your training. But you don't need to be hurry to choose. No matter what, we will still help you train, right, Senpai?"
"Yeah." Ishashiki nodded. "But that's a conversation for another day. For now, go back. It was already dark. Hiroto and I will clean up the place first."
Just by then they had realized the lively atmosphere in the dugout was gone, replaced by the cold, silent night outside. Hiroto had a complicated expression when he saw his two kouhai walk away absent-headedly. He knew the information they received tonight was a bit too much to handle in just one night, but it would be better to let them know sooner or later.
He was hopeful though, that this conversation would lead them to be a more mature person and be a better player in the future. However, who knows?
-------------------------------------------
Author note :
Hey! I have written a few next chapters of this new story and posted it already on my patreon account. If you want to read it in advance, you can visit patreon(.)com/ZetaFaes .
You can read this story up to chapter 32, and I will try to update it faster.
You can also read my other fanfiction, Kuroko no Basket: The Sixth man of Seirin Basketball Team up to chapter 170 on that page.
Thank you for your support! I appreciate it! :)
-Zeta Faes-