Chapter 24 : Furuya's Shortcoming
Fortunately, the remaining pride and dignity left inside him after the intra-game prevented Tojo from making a rash decision.
Yeah, no matter how bad he was at that game, Tojo still remembered that he was the number one pitcher from the winner of the national tournament in the middle school. It had been just two or three months since that happened, and he didn't believe his ability would deteriorate to the point he had to give up the mound.
If anything, this incident should have a positive impact on his career, bringing him back to the earth.
'The best young pitcher in Japan?' Tojo snorted wryly, remembering the award he achieved last year. 'What a joke. The real monster didn't even appear on that stage. The delusional was real.'
Well, at least now he knew that there would always be a better player than him. He was lucky this happened in his early career so he could adjust his mentality quickly. If he met the pitcher of Furuya or even Sawamura's caliber in the future, or God forbid they met as an opponent, he didn't want to imagine the setback he had to face in the aftermath.
Fortunately, that only happened in the 'what-if' scenario. This time, Tojo came with a new mentality, throwing away all his pride and achievements in the past and coming as a new-born pitcher. He was determined to re-learn everything from scratch once again and prove his worth in the future.
And as for the path to choose, he had a lot of time to figure it out. Re-learning the basics again would also be good for him to recall the memory of how to be a fielder again, something he had to dig out from the deeper part of his brain after not using it for about four or five years. And it wasn't like he gave up being a pitcher. However, Tojo was always a rational boy, and having a backup plan was definitely the best choice.
Now, besides the regular practice he had with the other newcomers, Tojo volunteered to be a sparing pitcher for the senpai who needed it and sometimes even be the fielder when the first team had their batting practice. Even though it was exhausting, Tojo's days were pretty fulfilling. He was fueled by the goal he carved inside his brain.
'Next year, I have to be there too, standing on the field as a member of the first team with everyone!'
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Unlike Tojo who had new determination after the late-night conversation with Isashiki and Hiroto, Sawamura was nowhere to be seen this morning. The silence was pretty strange for everyone who started to get used to Sawamura's loudness.
Rumor and speculation flew around, some thought the first-year was sick, and some thought he hadn't woken up yet. But no one except Hiroto and Isashiki knew what happened to Sawamura.
"Senpai, is it okay?" Hiroto asked worriedly.
"Don't worry, he would be okay," Isashiki reassured him. "I ask Chris to accompany him. It would keep that brat busy for a while and Chris would also be able to help him with his confusion."
Hearing that, Hiroto sighed in relief. He was surprised though, by his senpai's thoughtfulness. This was the time he remembered Isashiki was just prickly outside, yet soft and warm inside. Besides being a senpai, he sometimes acted like a big brother to everyone on the team.
"Well, now that you know he is alright, go away! Don't disturb our training!" Isashiki drove Hiroto away, nodding at Tojo on the mound. Knowing he wasn't needed here, Hiroto walked away, just to be dragged by Miyuki to the other bullpen.
"Oi, Hiroto! Come here for a second!"
His eyebrows raised a little, especially after seeing Tetsu and Ryousuke also gathered around the catcher, those three had frowns on their face. Intrigued, he asked, "What happened?"
"See it for yourself," Miyuki said with a hint of helplessness in his voice.
Hiroto furrowed his brows, glancing at the phone that was in Tetsu's hand. The captain shifted the phone away so he could also watch whatever made them frown too. It was a 15-minute compilation video of Furuya's pitches from different angles, from the intra-game, the spring tournament, until his daily practice, all of it was compiled in one video. To be honest, Hiroto was surprised since this was a pretty comprehensive video, especially for a player with no reputation like Furuya. But Miyuki's next word answered his unasked question.
"Rei-san helped me set the camera and recorded it for our data." The catcher shrugged.
"Tch. Favoritism at its finest." Ryousuke cursed under his breath. Miyuki just smiled, ignoring his senpai's sarcastic words.
It was an open secret to anyone that Miyuki and Chris were Rei's golden boy. Hiroto too, to some extent. However, the two catchers were always Rei's main focus, as she was the one who recruited those two to the team. However, no one made a fuss about that, thinking that it was another privilege the school provided for a talented player.
"So, is there anything wrong with Furuya's pitch? And where is he, by the way?"
"We are trying to figure out what's wrong with his pitching mechanic," Tetsu answered shortly. "Even though he has an amazing fastball, his control is worse than a blind pitcher. It is good when facing a low-level opponent, but once he faces the batter of our caliber, it would be his end."
Hiroto nodded in agreement. That was the point he always emphasized to Furuya whenever he had a chance.
"As for where is he now, I ask him to run around." Ryousuke smiled cruelly. Miyuki and Hiroto who knew what that smile meant shivered in fear, feeling pity toward his kouhai. "He is just like a dead penguin being thrown in the middle of Tokyo. He needs to work on his stamina quickly or he won't be able to survive this summer."
"Anyway!" Miyuki interrupted. "Since you all have the best eyes on the team, I want to ask your opinion here. What do you think?"
"Flattery would get you nowhere, Miyuki," Ryousuke said in disgust. However, he still leaned his body forward, trying to watch the record on the small screen in Tetsu's hand. After watching the record several times in slow motion, Hiroto sighed, noticing something strange from Furuya.
"He sure knows how to hide his emotion."
"Yeah." Tetsu nodded seriously. "Miyuki, you have to remind him about this. If he doesn't change this habit immediately, it would put him in a bad position."
Even though Ryousuke and Miyuki didn't say anything, they both agreed with Hiroto and Tetsu's words. They were all the four players who had the best observation skills, so it was easy to notice something wrong with Furuya's technique. And by something wrong, it referred to how Furuya gripped the ball before throwing it from the mound.
The common mistake a rookie pitcher often made when throwing a fastball was the fact that they tried to grip the ball as hard as possible, thinking that doing that, would increase its speed and power. However, not only it wouldn't be effective, but overgripping the ball would often lead to an injury such as bruised nail beds, cuts, or even tendonitis in the finger or wrist.
And sure, some of it was just a small injury that could heal overnight. But if it wasn't corrected in time, it was like carrying a time bomb, no one knew when the injury happened. Miyuki shuddered when he imagined something like that happening in the middle of the game. It sure would be the worst nightmare for a pitcher.
"I better give him the basic tutorial of how to treat his hand and nail too." The catcher muttered lowly.
After about twenty minutes of watching, Hiroto rubbed his eyes tiredly while saying, "Well, there is still a basic mistake in his mechanics such as his hip rotation and footwork, yet I could tell he is improving. Your work, I guess?" He asked.
"Yeah, we discussed about it already," Miyuki admitted. "But you can tell that even though when the technical problem is not the issue, his pitch is still a bit off, and I don't have any idea why."
"Hmmm…" The four best hitters of the team hummed simultaneously, trying to figure out their kouhai's problem.
"Maybe it is his body's problem?" Ryousuke suddenly suggested. "I mean, I don't know a lot about pitcher's training, but Chris once said that flexibility is one of the most important things for a pitcher. And here, you can see even though nothing wrong with his form, his body is still stiff enough. It is indeed a problem, right?"
"You have a point here." Miyuki nodded, pondering Ryousuke's words. "I will consult Chris-senpai about this later. He has more experience in forming a training menu for a pitcher compared to me. And since he also works with Sawamura-kun, this would be hitting two birds with one stone."
"But there is still one problem here." Tetsu suddenly said, attracting the three's attention. "Look at it again carefully, but think of his psychological state."
With the new clue provided by their captain, Miyuki, Hiroto, and Ryousuke turned their eyes back to the phone again. However, after another round of observation, they still had no idea what Tetsu meant before.
"Well, apart from his lack of ability in handling a leadoff runner, I couldn't see any problem with his psychological state," Ryousuke stated, crossing his arm.
"Yeah." Miyuki nodded. "But Tetsu-san had already known about that before watching this recording, so I guess that wasn't what he meant."
Hiroto also turned around, staring at his captain curiously. Furuya's problem in handling a leadoff runner was an open secret on the team. Whenever he allowed a runner to go through the first base safely, the first-year pitcher would be distracted and his pitching accuracy would be worsened a lot. Fortunately, this problem was discovered by Kataoka-sensei early, and now, Furuya had one special training menu with Kuramochi on the cat-and-mouse game between the pitcher and a leadoff runner.
However, this was an old problem. Now that Tetsu raised another problem with Furuya's psychological state, Hiroto couldn't help but be intrigued. He leaned his body forward, waiting for his captain's answer.
"Just look at it carefully." Tetsu insisted strongly. "His accuracy didn't start to wear off after he let a runner get through the first base safely. No, it is earlier than that. And watch his reaction after every time he pitches the ball too."
After watching the clips for the third time in a row, Hiroto finally found the clue Tetsu tried to point out. It didn't take a long time for him to find out the problem his captain meant.
There he could see, that whenever Furuya finished throwing a ball, he would look at Miyuki or the other catcher for several seconds as if wanting an acknowledgment. And the sign of his accuracy starting to decline could be seen when he got a cold response from his catcher. It was a no-brainer for Hiroto to figure out what happened.
"He said he has never gotten a chance to play in his middle school, right?" He asked hesitantly.
"Yeah." Ryousuke nodded, his eyes still locked on the screen. "He is also a socially awkward boy, so it is no wonder he had this problem." It seems he also figured out the problem.
"Wait wait wait! Wait a second!" Miyuki who was still clueless interrupted the conversation before it could go further. "I don't get it! What did you see there?! Why am I the only one who didn't have any idea about it?!"
There is a hint of frustration in his voice. Even though Miyuki had a calm temperament, he always hated being left out like this, especially when talking about baseball. However, after being explained by the other two, he had his mouth twitched in annoyance.
"Seriously? You all think it is a problem?!"
"You cannot say that, Miyuki." Unexpectedly, it was Tetsu who scolded the catcher. "Not everyone had the best environment growing up. You know that Furuya has never had guidance from a professional. All the thing he knew about pitching was to throw the ball as hard as possible. So, when he thought his best pitch couldn't even get your affirmation, he might start to feel the pressure since he didn't know whether the ball was good or not. Don't underestimate that psychological problem."
Miyuki had a blank expression, clearly didn't see the problem like the other did. Tetsu couldn't help but sigh as he looked at Ryousuke, both of them shared a helpless expression. This was the gap between the genius discovered early and later.
Miyuki who was always a golden boy whenever he went would always get praised by the other, so he didn't need the affirmation whether he was good or not. But for Furuya, it was clear that even with his monstrous pitch, he still received cold treatment from his former teammates and coaches. That basically planted the doubt that if no one gave him assurance, his pitch must be bad or not good enough in their eyes. This made him feel pressured unconsciously and whether he noticed or not, he started to mess up.
Hiroto sighed, starting to see Furuya in a new light. His kouhai wasn't just a cold and arrogant boy like the other players assumed him to be. Inside, he was still an awkward boy longing for acknowledgment from the other.
"But this is still just your assumption, though." Miyuki is still not convinced by this theory. "We didn't know whether it affected him or not."
"Well, fortunately, it is easy to confirm the truth of it." Ryousuke stood up, his head turned around looking for Furuya. "Care to test it?"
Hiroto stared at Miyuki who hesitated for a second. However, even though Miyuki couldn't understand this problem, he was probably the one who cared about the pitcher the most on the team, second to Kataoka-sensei. Thinking that there was a chance of helping Furuya to get better, the hesitation vanished instantly, replaced with a new determination.
"Sure, let's do it."
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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 33, 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 171 on that page.
Thank you for your support! I appreciate it! :)
-Zeta Faes-