<96> Sendo Fans in Front of Miyuki

Chapter 96: Sendo Fans in Front of Miyuki

"Go run laps!" Sendo ordered decisively after Sawamura's dramatic swing and miss.

"Why?! I was so close! Just give me one more chance!" Sawamura protested, unwilling to accept the blame. However, before he could say more, the others quickly dragged him away.

No one wanted to waste precious time now that they finally had the opportunity to practice properly.

"Line up in order! One at a time! After your turn at bat, move on to visualization practice, then return for another turn to test your progress. Got it?" Sendo instructed.

"Got it!!!" everyone responded enthusiastically.

Thus began a repetitive cycle of hitting, visualizing, and more hitting.

Sendo had canceled all other drills for the day, intending to ensure the players could at least perform consistent movements with preparation, gradually transforming those movements into instinct.

Unbeknownst to Sendo, something special was happening far away in Tokyo—a unique practice game scheduled for the next day.

In middle school baseball, club activities paused during winter, requiring players to regroup and regain their form in the spring.

However, elementary school little league and junior high baseball senior leagues continued training as usual, making winter the perfect time for practice games.

...

"Don't forget what you've just learned when you go home! I'll talk to Sano-sensei about delaying the practice game," Sendo said.

The significant adjustments to their swings required time to solidify, so Sendo decided to shift their focus from game preparation to self-refinement.

"Understood!"

Hearing their response, Sendo hopped on his bike and rode off.

...

The next day, at the Tokyo Wildcats' little league baseball facility, a high-level practice game was underway—high-level, at least for the Wildcats.

The game had reached the fifth inning, and the score was 2-0 in favor of the Wildcats.

The scoreboard showed a tight contest, with no runs scored in the first three innings.

The Wildcats had managed one run each in the fourth and fifth innings, maintaining their two-run lead as the bottom of the fifth unfolded.

If you ignored the opponent's name, many would praise the team for holding the "Kanto Champions" to just two runs so far.

But the matchup was none other than the Wildcats versus the Edogawa youth team.

At this moment, with two outs and a runner on first, Edogawa's cleanup hitter and catcher, Miyuki Kazuya, stepped into the batter's box. The count stood at 2-3—full count.

Crack!

The ball flew high and deep.

"It's outta here! Home run!!!"

"Now the game starts! It starts now!" The Edogawa bench erupted with cheers, releasing the frustration built up from a game where they had been thoroughly suppressed.

After all, they had six years of experience with hardball baseball yet found themselves outclassed by an elementary school team.

"Nice hit, Miyuki!!!"

"That was just a mistake pitch from their pitcher due to fatigue! But don't underestimate that pitcher—they haven't shown much sign of being affected. What a terrifying team! No wonder they've dominated the Kanto championship for so many years!"

"I understand!"

"That old coach has me completely figured out—I can't guess their pitch patterns at all," Miyuki thought to himself, glancing at the Wildcats' dugout.

For someone like him, who thrived on anticipating pitches, facing a catcher with MLB-level skills was pure torment.

On the mound, the Wildcats' fifth-grade ace was unshaken by the home run.

"The batter wasn't as impressive as I expected," he thought.

In recent years, the Wildcats had emerged from their slump, with promising players flocking even from neighboring prefectures.

The current pitcher, who had been a fourth-grade backup last fall, had grown significantly, earning the ace title this season.

"Miyuki Kazuya, huh? A player with great potential. But ever since I met Sendo-san, no player has surprised me anymore," the Wildcats' pitcher mused, his confidence unwavering despite the rare setback.

...

"Smack!"

"Game over! Line up!"

"3-1! Wildcats win!"

"Thank you for the game!"

In the end, Edogawa managed only one run. Despite several hits and runners on base, the highly disciplined Wildcats defense crushed their chances one by one.

With a professional coach at the helm—a former MLB player who had been a catcher and field general during his playing days—the Wildcats were a team built on impeccable defense.

The game was intense, with both teams achieving double-digit hits, but the low-scoring nature reflected the tactical precision, which had much to do with Miyuki's presence.

"Thank you, Coach Nakani! We learned a lot from today's game!" Edogawa's coach expressed his gratitude.

"No, we should be the ones thanking you! ...That catcher of yours, Miyuki Kazuya, is quite a talented player," Coach Nakanishi replied with a smile.

"Thank you for the compliment! Actually, Coach Nakani, I was wondering... could you give Miyuki some pointers? I have some knowledge myself, but it's limited. It would be invaluable if you could guide him."

"Of course, I'd be happy to! There's no need to be so formal."

"Miyuki! Come over here!"

"Yes!"

Hearing his coach call, Miyuki quickly grabbed his gear and ran over.

"Coach Nakani has agreed to give you some advice. Make sure to thank him properly!"

"Ah!" Miyuki gasped in surprise before bowing deeply. "Thank you very much!"

"There's no need to be so formal. May I call you Miyuki-kun?"

"Of course!"

"Alright, tell me, what's your thought process when you call pitches?"

…

The two began a simple conversation. Although Coach Nakani only offered a few pointers, the insights were profound for Miyuki, leaving him with a lot to reflect on.

"Thank you so much for today!" Miyuki bowed deeply once again.

"I told you, no need to thank me. I enjoyed our chat as well. Talking to you reminded me of one of my former students."

"A student?"

"Yes. He's a year younger than you. To be honest, some of your thoughts and even your personality remind me of him. But his mindset is much more complex, and he's far lazier than you."

Coach Nakani chuckled as he reminisced.

"When he didn't know much about baseball, I once explained pitching theories to him, and he said, 'Why bother overthinking? Just adapt to the situation. Give the batter the pitch they least want to hit.' I can't recall his exact words, but that was the gist of it."

"Haha! He sounds like an interesting guy!"

"So, where is he playing now? If he's your student, he must be quite famous!"

"No, he actually stopped playing baseball in the fourth grade. Honestly, even though he was my student, I only coached him for a month. But I believe he'll come back to the game someday."

"I see. I hope he does."

"That said, while your personalities are similar, your playing styles are worlds apart. When he was in fourth grade, he relied entirely on his innate talent, using sheer power to overwhelm opponents. He didn't like predicting pitch sequences, even though he was incredibly good at it."

"Interesting! I'd love to meet him someday. Coach Nakani, what's his name?"

"Sendo. Sendo Akira."

"Sendo Akira? That's the name of a popular manga character with a huge following! How intriguing!"

"Coach Nakani, did you say fourth grade? Wildcats' history shows that they've never had a fourth-grader on their first team," Edogawa's coach suddenly pointed out.

Hearing this, Miyuki seemed to realize something. His eyes widened as he stared at Coach Nakani in astonishment.

"Ah, that's because he quit the team," Coach Nakani said, gazing up at the sky.

Hearing this, Miyuki and Edogawa's coach both widened their eyes in surprise.

"His birthday is in November, so he was already younger than his peers. But just five days after joining, I had him merge with the first string. A week later, he became the team's ace pitcher and cleanup hitter with his overwhelming talent!"

Miyuki and the coach were left speechless.

"Though the overall team strength back then wasn't as high as it is now, our defense was still solid. Sendo became the absolute core of both offense and defense, but he always remained somewhat detached from the team's cohesion."

"And then?" Miyuki managed to utter a single word before falling silent again.

"If he couldn't integrate, then we didn't force it. The team at that time revolved entirely around Sendo. His reactions were sharp, and his defense was solid. As long as his teammates gave him a few reminders, he was fine."

"Offensively, all we needed was to load the bases for him. He didn't need to cooperate with anyone—just send all the runners home with his hits. Often, we didn't even need the batters after him to bring him back; his sheer power was enough."

Everyone understood the meaning behind Coach Nakani's words: Sendo didn't need to adapt to his teammates—his teammates adapted to him.

The strategy was simple: pile up runners on base and let Sendo clear them with a home run or a big hit.

Absolute dominance through sheer strength.

If Coach Nakani spoke so highly of him, then Sendo must have lived up to that reputation.

Against elementary school-level teams, his home run rate must have been sky-high, let alone his overall extra-base hit rate.

"It's a pity," Nakani continued. "His family moved suddenly. Before we could fully develop our strategy, everything was shelved indefinitely. That kid gave up on baseball altogether."

Lost in his memories, Coach Nakani's voice carried a tinge of regret. Miyuki and the coach beside him remained silent, not wanting to interrupt.

"I truly look forward to the day I meet him again," Nakani said after a while, snapping out of his reverie and noticing Miyuki's earnest gaze.

"Me too," Miyuki responded with determination.

"Though he hasn't played baseball recently, he's started participating in some baseball-related activities. There's a good chance you'll meet him on the field someday—maybe even at Koshien," Nakani added with a smile.

"I'll be waiting!" Miyuki said, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.

"That's the spirit!"

By the time they finished talking, the sun was setting, and the Edogawa team was preparing to leave. The two teams bid their farewells and went their separate ways.

"Sendo, what are you up to now?" Nakani wondered, looking at the sunset as a wistful smile crossed his face.

"Achoo!" Far away in Nagano, Sendo let out a loud sneeze.

"Are you catching a cold?"

Leaning against the window, reading manga and chatting with Fumino, Sendo rubbed his nose. "Maybe I am. It's easy to catch a cold in spring," he muttered.

Closing the window, he stepped back into the warmth of his room.

...

Recently, following Sendo's suggestion to adjust their batting stances, the team's morale skyrocketed as everyone aimed to adapt as quickly as possible.

Sendo, half-willing and half-pressured, ended up staying late with them to practice.

He soon realized his free time was dwindling rapidly. By the time it hit him that he had dug his own grave, it was already too late.

Where he once could head home early, now he couldn't leave before 5 PM.

On top of that, his evenings were spent enduring Fumino's relentless antics, making his days comparable to the overworked students burning the midnight oil on the other side of the ocean.

"Two more years... no, it's actually only a year and a half now! After the summer tournament in my third year, I'm retiring, no matter what. I won't get involved with them again, even if they beg! My precious free time!!! But... a year and a half... that still feels so long. What do I do?"

Despite his complaints, Sendo kept up with his responsibilities.

The next day, he begrudgingly served as the team's batting pitcher and tossed balls to his teammates during drills.

As he took on the role of batting pitcher, Sendo realized, much to his dismay, that he had once again shot himself in the foot.

Although the team was still unfamiliar with their adjusted stances, shifting the contact point forward and extending their aim time significantly improved their contact rates.

Even Wakana managed to occasionally hit the ball into fair territory, and some teammates were starting to get hits—even if by luck.

While they couldn't yet string together consecutive hits in a game, progress was evident.

Several times, Sendo felt tempted to pitch faster, but each time, his request was mercilessly denied.

According to the rules they'd set, any fair ball reset the count for the batter and gave them an extra turn at the end of the lineup.

"Damn it! Why didn't I notice this earlier? Who would've thought these guys' batting stances were so bad? And now, my brilliant idea turned out to be too effective! I can already see the dark future waving at me," Sendo thought, exasperated by the endless challenges he'd inadvertently brought upon himself.

...

Two weeks after the batting practice began, Sendo arranged their first practice game.

Although Akagi Middle School was one of the last teams to schedule practice games, their dominant performance in the autumn tournament against Suimoku Comprehensive, combined with their close match against Tokumei Academy, made them an attractive opponent.

Many teams, including some top-16 and top-8 teams like Tokumei, were eager to play against them.

Ultimately, Akagi accepted nearly all challenges, scheduling 15 practice games in total, with one additional rematch against Sakura Girls' University for a total of 16 games.

When Sano heard the plan, he joked, "Win, and you get grilled meat? Don't even think about it." His wallet clearly took priority.

Among the scheduled opponents was a particularly noteworthy team: Tokugawa Middle School.

What surprised Sano even more was that Tokugawa Middle School reached out to Akagi for the match.

After consulting with Sendo, the game was set for May 8th—perfect timing to avoid revealing too much before the summer tournament in June while still allowing Akagi ample time to hone their batting skills.

----------------------

If you want to read 20 chapters advanced.

Visit my patreon: patreon.com/Shu_21