74. Steam Buns and Pitcher

Rei woke up the next day as his alarm rang, turning it off, he wore his shoes and went jogging. Rei would never get enough of the cool wind on a nice warm morning. As he jogged he hummed his favorite song and reached his usual place.

He started with his exercises for the core muscles and jogged back after it was done. He went inside the bathroom as quickly as possible and took a quick bath. He needed to go to the school quickly as he needed to keep his gear in the locker.

Wearing his clothes he took his bag, the gear and walked out towards the kitchen. He saw Narumi and said, "Oba-san I am leaving quickly today."

"But what about your breakfast Rei."

"I will buy something on the way to school, Oba-san."

"Ok, then I will send your lunch with Sora and take it from him."

Rei nodded and wore his shoes by the doorstep. He walked out and checked the time on his phone, There was still an hour left, so he started walking slowly. As he walked towards the school he was suddenly attacked by a delicious fragrance.

He stopped in his tracks as he took a whiff of the smell again. He turned back and followed the fragrance into a small shop by the road with his eyes closed. He went inside and followed the fragrance until he reached the counter. He opened his eyes and saw an old man with no hair and a kind smile at the counter.

"Do you need anything kid?"

"I smelled something good and came here, uncle."

"HAHAHAHAHA that must be my wife's tasty steam buns. She was cooking up some right now. Do you want some?" asked the old man laughing.

"Yes please old man."

"Ok wait a second."

The old man went back in and came out after a minute with a tightly wrapped package. He kept the package on the counter and pushed it towards Rei.

Rei slowly smelled it and got the same smell he had before. He searched his pocket for his wallet and took it out. As he was taking out money, he heard the old man, "Don't pay, kid. You are our first customer. We set the shop up today so think of this as a gift. If you find them tasty bring over some friends the next time around."

Rei hesitated, hearing his words but kept his wallet back in his pocket after the old man insisted again. Rei caught the smell coming out of the packages again and couldn't wait anymore. He swiftly opened the package and saw 4 steam buns.

His stomach grumbled with emptiness and he took a bun. He slowly ate it and his mouth exploded with flavors. A taste of hot and spiciness took over immediately as the food entered.

He slowly ate it and the spiciness took over with sweet taking its place. The sweet gave of a refreshing feeling after the spiciness before. He slowly ate the rest of the bun and wrapped up the other 3 to eat it on the way.

"Thanks for the buns. They were very tasty." while bowing.

The old man waved his hand and simply said, "It's ok seeing you happy eating our food makes it feel worth it."

Rei nodded and went out of the shop. He kept thinking about the bun and decided to bring Keiko and Mizuki here after school. He took out a bun and ate it with a happy face. He reached the school and noticed there was a bun left. He wrapped it and kept it in his bag to give it to Keiko and Mizuki.

He made his way towards the ground. He entered the ground and saw Akira with another person who he couldn't recognize playing. He slowly made his way towards the lockers not wanting to disturb them.

"HEY REI YOUR EARLY."

Rei stopped on his tracks hearing the loud noise and turned around. He saw Akira waving at him while the other looked at him.

"Yes, Ite-senpai I needed to keep my gear in the lockers so I came early,"

"Oh keep the kit in the locker and come play with us. There is still time left."

Rei nodded and went inside the lockers. He went to the last locker in the second row and turned the dial to open it. This locker was given to him by the assistant coach, Konda yesterday before he went back.

He kept the kit neatly inside the locker and closed it. He came out and kept his bag on the bench at the side making his way towards the two taking his glove. Akira stopped playing as he saw Rei coming towards them.

"Oh Rei good, meet our Ace this year Akihiko Suzaku. He is a third-year student like me and Shiro. This is Rei I told you about yesterday."

Suzaku had light brown hair and stood as tall as Akira. With his lean figure, he looked like a malnourished person. His face displayed boredom and was also a very lazy person. It was still a mystery about how he became the ace of the team.

Suzuki observed Rei for a second and extended his hand, "My name is Akihiko Suzaku and as he told I am the pitcher. Hope we become a good pair."

Rei nodded as he returned his greeting introducing himself.

"Ok now that Rei is here, why don't you try to pitch to him Suzaku."

Rei was flabbergasted by the sudden idea but still nodded as he was curious about the type of pitcher Suzaku was. Up until now Rei only caught for Izumi and Meiko, so he wanted to experience others.

Suzaku nodded and took the ball from Akira. Rei went to a distance with the glove he brought with him. He squatted down into position and exercised his hand. He opened his mitt and gave a place for the pitcher to pitch at.

Suzaku nodded and slowly pitched the ball. Seeing this Rei was confused not by the ball but rather his style of pitching. It was the southpaw style that he never caught before. He came out of the stupor and caught it easily. The pitch had almost normal speed and nothing was special to it. He threw the ball back to him.

"THROW MORE SERIOUSLY SUZAKU. I WILL BUY YOU A CREAM BUN IF YOU DO." told Akhira from the side.

Hearing this Suzaku's expression and vibe changed and became more serious. He pitched the ball again and this time the speed behind the ball was another deal compared to the one before.