<35> Where's My Coke?

Chapter 35: Where's My Coke?

"Stop making me repeat myself!"

"Don't try to catch it with your glove. Move your feet and keep up as much as you can!"

"Takada, move forward a bit. You're backing up too much!"

"The ball is much faster now!" Takada muttered softly.

"What are you mumbling about? Lower your center of gravity and catch the ball head-on. You're already slow at running. Do I need to put you on a diet plan?"

"No need for that!" But Takada obviously didn't dare let Sendo hear that and could only mutter to himself.

"Next is a 6-4-3 double play! Take your time with this one. I won't ask you to do it too fast, but you must learn these basic double plays!"

"Got it!" Everyone in the infield, including Wakana, responded in unison.

"Alright, one more ball! A bit quicker this time!"

Thwack!

"One more ball!"

"Alright, next one to centerfield!"

"Left field!"

"Right field!"

...

"Good, now for some more advanced bunting practice today! I'll set the pitching machine to random pitches. Only bunt strikes!"

"Let's begin!"

"Shin, did you learn anything from the previous practice? Although I can't teach you how to direct the team during actual games, watching fielding practice can teach you a lot."

"I've learned which balls should be fielded by which position!"

"Exactly! Since I'm not too familiar with the typical range of each position, many of the balls I hit were tricky. But that makes it a good learning opportunity for you.

"For example, in those situations where anyone could field the ball or no one could, you can now direct your teammates based on our usual practice. This way, you can greatly reduce errors.

"What do you think? It's a great tactic, right? I just thought of it today!"

"Sorry, Sen-chan! We couldn't be of any help. You've been handling all the training on your own!"

"Don't worry about it. Honestly, I'm impressed you guys managed to train this hard under Tokyo's summer heat! You're all really tough!"

"Uh, Sen-chan?"

"Hmm?"

"Is something going on? You seem especially motivated today!"

"No way! I'm as lazy as ever, beyond saving at this point!"

"Lazy? What kind of sickness is that? It sounds serious if it's a cancer! Will you be okay?" Not only Shin, but even the others, including Fumino, who was watching them train, looked concerned.

"..."

"Does Japan not have the word 'lazy-cancer'? Oh well," Sendo thought to himself.

"Haha, you guys are hilarious! It's not what you think. 'Lazy-cancer' just means I'm so lazy, it's like a terminal illness. There's no cure for it!"

"..."

"Seriously? We were worried for nothing!"

"Alright, back to training! Honestly, how could something like that really exist?"

"And you, Shin, you completely threw me off. I forgot what I was going to say! So go join them for training!" But Sendo wasn't thinking that at all.

"I've already told you everything you need to know and asked all the questions I had. By saying this, now you'll feel guilty, won't you? Hehe!"

If everyone heard about his latest discovery, they would probably say things like, "What a terrible personality!" or "How low!"

"Alright, while everyone is happily (being roasted) practicing under the blazing sun, I'll treat myself to a bottle of ice-cold Coke!" Sendo thought to himself.

In fact, he had prepared well to protect himself from the sun.

Not only did he apply plenty of sunscreen and wear a sun hat, but he even put up umbrellas over the batting area for everyone.

(Truly, what a terrible personality!)

...

With that thought, Sendo walked over to the cooler full of chilled drinks.

He opened the cooler...

"Gone!!!" Sendo cried out in despair.

"Why? I clearly remember there was still some left! Did I forget to put it in here and leave it in the fridge?"

Muttering to himself, Sendo jogged back indoors and opened the fridge...

"…"

"⊙▽⊙!" He found that the fridge was completely empty, not a single drink in sight!

Dazed, Sendo plopped down on the sofa, pondering his life.

"My memory can't be wrong, but why is it gone? Who drank it?" Sendo was lost in deep thought.

"Sa!!! Wa!!! Mu!!! Ra!!!" A short while later, the entire villa echoed with his thunderous voice and its reverberations!

In a flash, a figure darted out of the villa, heading straight for the field!

"Sa! wa! mu! ra! You jerk, you drank my Coke, didn't you!"

"What are you talking about?" Sawamura replied, looking calm and confused.

In the original, Kuramochi and Masuko thought Sawamura would be down because of Masuko's home run, so they tried to comfort him, only to find Sawamura happily eating Masuko's pudding and cheerfully greeting them!

"My Coke! The Coke!"

"Who drank it?" Sawamura continued with the same nonchalant tone.

"It was you, of course! Who else could it be?!" Sendo shouted, pointing at Sawamura, his expression as exaggerated as possible.

...

"Um!..." An awkward voice broke the silence, and everyone turned to look. It was Fumino standing nearby.

"If you're talking about the Coke in the cooler, I drank it."

Sendo looked at her, "..."

Sawamura looked at her, "..."

Everyone else, "..."

"Temei!" Sendo shouted loudly, trying to cover up his endless embarrassment.

"But I remember there should've been two bottles left!" Sendo quickly regained his composure and spoke normally again after covering his embarrassment.

"I drank both of them!"

"…"

"Alright then, I guess we're almost out of drinks anyway. We should buy more since summer's just starting! Okay, everyone, let's go get some drinks. Fumino and I will ride bikes, and the rest of you will run!"

"Eh?!"

"Just like that!?" Sawamura's loud voice echoed once again.

"Just a moment ago, you were yelling at me so loudly! Isn't this... what's the word... that thing, that thing, that thing!!!" Sawamura's last few words were practically a shout.

"It's called double standards, baka!" Wakana muttered quietly.

"Double standards? Exactly!!! Double standards!!!

Look! Everyone! He was just!!! Yelling at me so loudly, but now!!! He's talking so gently to Furuhashi-san! Right?!" Sawamura exaggeratedly pointed out.

At that moment, everyone else took a collective step back, perfectly in sync!

"Ah...?" Sawamura looked at their reaction, and just as he let out the sound, cold sweat began to form as he heard a devilish whisper in his ear.

"Eijun, what did you just say?"

"Ahhh!!! Mmph mmph!" As soon as Sawamura tried to run, Sendo, who had already closed in, caught him in an instant, pinching Sawamura's lips with two fingers.

"Was it this mouth that was talking just now?"

"I'm shorry," but with his mouth pinched, it was incomprehensible.

"Huh? I didn't quite catch that. What did you say?"

As Sendou applied more pressure with his fingers, Sawamura's words became even more garbled.

"Do you know what you did wrong?"

"Is!" Sawamura really wanted to say "Yes!"

"Ples Et o of me..." He tried to say, "Please let go of me," but it came out as gibberish.

Apparently satisfied that the lesson was learned, Sendo finally let him go.

"Ahhhh!!!" Sawamura gasped, greedily gulping in air.

"Alright, hurry up and run! We won't wait for you!" Sendo said, hopping onto a bike.

"Yes, sir!!!"

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