102. Friendly Match (END)

Hearing his name, the referee went into a daze, making Rei confused. Waving his hands in front of him, Rei asked, "What happened?" snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Oh! Nothing, I just thought of something. You play good as a catcher and looks like you are still new to it. Take this as advice from me and don't make your pitch calling predictable. Try to mix the pitches up." and not waiting for Rei to reply, he continued out of the field.

Rei stood there not understanding why he got sudden advice from a stranger but still kept it inside his mind and walked back to the bench. Noticing everyone almost ready to go, Rei sat on the bench and removed his gear. He looked at the scoreboard which showed they tied and only sighed to himself.

Getting out of the gear, Rei packed his kit and went towards the group. Noticing Rei coming towards them, Sora went in front of everyone and clapped.

"Ok, guys. That was one fun game and looks like we all enjoyed it. Now let's go and have some lunch. The bill is on me. Are any of you up for some pizza?" Hearing him, everyone raised their hands and shouted in agreement.

Sora nodded, and all of them followed him out of the field. Rei was walking with Izumi, Suzaku, Tanaka, and Daichi. He heard Suzaku and Izumi talking about their pitching and turned towards Tanaka.

"It was fun, wasn't it?"

Tanaka nodded and said, "Yah. It was good to play together and against some total strangers. I thought it would be bad, but it was surprisingly very fun to play. We should do this some other time."

"Yah I am all up for it too," said Daichi.

Rei nodded in satisfaction, listening to them. He wanted everyone to enjoy it when he asked Sora, and that was all it mattered. All three of them continued to talk as they finally reached a pizza place in the shopping district nearby. All of them made their way inside and the shop had enough space for all 18 of them.

Rei sat with Tanaka and Daichi, while Izumi and Suzaku still did not stop talking. Rei took the menu as he heard Sora tell everyone to decide on what they want. He felt Tanaka nudge from the side and turned to look.

"Rei, How do you know Izumi over there?" pointing at Izumi with his eyes. He noticed Daichi also keenly waiting for his answer.

"We both are childhood friends. Both of us lived in Tokyo before and were neighbors. He had to move out due to his parent's work, and even I had to move out due to some problems. I met him again when Sora invited their team's pitcher, which happened to him." Tanaka nodded while Daichi kept a face of understanding.

"So, who do you think is a better pitcher between both of them?" this time it was Daichi from his other side.

"Rei looked at Izumi and Suzaku as they conversed for a few seconds before answering, "I think both of them are the same except for speed. Izumi has more speed than Akihiko-senpai. But in terms of accuracy, both are similar. But Izumi has a year left in middle school while Akihiko-senpai doesn't." Tanaka and Daichi nodded.

The food appeared, and all of them started to have some food. After all of them were done, Sora had enough money to pay from the money Narumi gave him, and hence Rei did not offer him. All of them separated as Izumi followed Rei home.

"Your pitcher is talented," commented Izumi as they walked home.

"Yes, he is very good. I did not expect him to bounce back better after last year," said Sora.

"Yah Akihiko-senpai kept some real effort these past 2 months and they are slowly paying off." Nodding to Sora.

"That's great if he improves. He has to carry the team forward and you all should support him."

Rei just nodded, and all of them reached home. Taking a fresh bath they sat in front of the television and by the looks of it only they were home.

As all three of them enjoyed, another person was sitting inside a cafe staring at his phone. His eyes were moist, and he was trying to hold back his tears. If you look closer, it was the same person who was the referee for the friendly match. He seemed like he was waiting for someone.

"I never thought I would see your son, Tensei." Mumbling to himself.

"He seems like a prodigy, just like you were back in the day if not better. He has some actual skill and I hope he could reach levels which you decided not to."

The picture in his phone was of a younger him and a younger Tensei, wearing a jersey and grinning like idiots. He heard the door of the cafe open and turned back to see an old man come inside.

Noticing it was the person he was patiently waiting for, he quickly closed the phone and kept it aside. He stood up and bowed a little while greeting him, "It is good to see you, Iwata-sensei."

It was the Sensen coach, Iwata. Iwata nodded and greeted back while clasping the man's shoulders from the side and said, " it is good to see you too once again Kira. Hope you are doing well."