<67> Autumn Has Arrived

Chapter 67: Autumn Has Arrived

Helping everyone arrange practice games isn't as easy as Sawamura thought. Even for teams that exited early, these games are already scheduled.

But these are things Sawamura and his teammates don't have to worry about.

Back at school, they resumed training, focusing on strengthening defensive resilience, baserunning, and practicing foundational skills, particularly throws and explosiveness, as per Sendo's instructions.

Sawamura's training has now shifted back to running and explosiveness exercises.

As for the pickoff throws he mentioned earlier… Sendo gave up on that during their time in Tokyo. It's just not something he's good at.

Sendo has also prepared an entire plan for sneaking away from training!

He hasn't fully left them to train on their own; he checks in on their sessions every day or two.

It's all planned out. Since he's taught them everything he can, what's left is just practice, so Sendo slips away now and then.

However, this little escape plan only lasted until the third day of the new school term.

"Sendo, you finally show up! Every day, right after school, we can never find you. What's up with that?"

"Come on, you're not kids. Do I have to be your babysitter?"

"Huh?… We are kids! We're only first-year middle school students! And didn't you say something different when we first came back to Nagano?"

Sawamura suddenly remembered something: when they were on the train back from Tokyo, he had jokingly said Sendo and Fumino were dating, and Sendo had shot back, calling him a kid to shut him down.

"…" The others were speechless, thinking, This sounds like kids bickering!

"What, are you a little baby?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like! You're not a baby; why do you need someone watching you train every day?"

"Sen-chan! Just tell us what's going on today!" Aoki stepped in to redirect the conversation.

"Good news! Since this rundown school doesn't have facilities for batting practice, I suddenly thought: we can use people to pitch for you to practice bunting!"

"People power? Do you mean pitching batters, Sen-chan?" Kondou asked.

"That's right! Honestly, I can't believe I didn't think of something this simple sooner."

"But wasn't it you who said Ei-chan's pitching isn't suitable for batting practice, Sen-chan?"

"That's only when he's throwing full strength. Recently, with all his running, his lower body has improved. If he pitches like he did in the practice game against Seiwa, it should be fine for bunting practice!"

"And… well, nothing else. This type of practice lets us kill three birds with one stone."

"First, Eijun can work on his pitching."

"Second, you all get to work on your hitting!"

"Third, if we divide into groups for runners and batters, we can practice baserunning under near-game conditions!"

"But for now, Shin will have to hold off on practicing; he should focus on building experience as a catcher first."

"Amazing! You came up with all this, Sen-chan?"

"It's not that impressive. It's just basic practice. Didn't you all do similar drills when we trained with the Wildcats?"

"But we didn't think of it ourselves, right?"

"All right! Let's get training! I'll watch for a while!"

"Yeah!!"

"Well, maybe we can start in a few days. No harm in stealing an extra day off," Sendo thought to himself.

In truth, he wasn't completely free just now; he simply didn't feel like saying it.

"First, one out, runner is me, batter is Aoki. Who wants to start out in the infield? Wakana-chan, could you be the line umpire?" Ohno called out, officially kicking off the practice.

Clink!

Thud!

"Out!"

.....

"Everyone really does love training! Even that idiot, pitching without a single complaint, totally absorbed in it!" Sendo muttered to himself in a tone of admiration as he watched them practice.

But as he sat there, he began nodding off, head bobbing up and down, fighting his drowsiness in vain.

Just then, footsteps approached. Forcing himself to shake off the sleepiness, Sendo looked up toward the sound.

"Hey, Sendo! Dozing off again, huh? Can you ever get enough sleep?"

"Oh, Sano-sensei! I don't know! Whenever I'm not busy, I start feeling sleepy. Did you come to the field to tell us you found an opponent for the practice game?"

"There are a few teams interested, but we're waiting on responses. We have to see if our schedules line up, so it'll take a little time."

"Got it. So, what's up, Sano-sensei?"

"It's time to register for the Autumn Tournament!"

"Already?"

"Yes, registration opened a bit earlier this year, though the start date remains the same. The first round will be in ten days. I don't know much about this, so I'm just the messenger. I wanted you all to have a heads-up."

"Understood! I'll start thinking about a training plan."

"That's why the other teams need to work out their schedules with us. I'll get confirmation by tomorrow at the earliest."

"I'll leave the scheduling to you, Sano-sensei!"

"Right! …But, should I come find you here, or just send a message?" Sano paused, clearly aware of Sendo's tendency to sneak away.

"..."

"I'll be here! Since the tournament is coming up, I'll stick around during this time."

"Good! If you're sleepy, head back! These kids don't seem to need you right now."

"True! But I'll stay and watch for a bit...then I'll find an excuse to slip away!"

"Haha! You rascal! Well, I'll be heading back then." Even Sano, known for his straightforwardness, shook his head and sighed.

"Thanks for the hard work!" Sendo stood and gave a bow.

Sano walked away without looking back, raising a hand behind him to wave goodbye.

Sendo watched him leave, then turned back to look at everyone training.

"I was planning to wait a few more days to tell them so I could laze around a bit longer. Now…well, guess I'll just wait until tomorrow!" he thought, deciding to give himself one more day off.

...

"Hey, everyone! This training is tough, so if you feel tired, wrap it up whenever you want! I've got something to do, so I'm heading out!" Sendo called out, then promptly disappeared.

"That guy! Off to slack again! I really want to give him a piece of my mind!" Sawamura muttered under his breath, clenching his fists.

But that last part was probably what he truly wanted to say!

"Haha! Ei-chan, give it up! You'll never win an argument with him… and you definitely couldn't beat him!" Even the usually angelic teammates had picked up a bit of Sendo's teasing spirit, often ribbing Sawamura.

"Sigh! Let's get back to training! Who's up next? Damn it!!!"

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