Shun and Jiro sat in silence while watching TV. After a while, Jiro began to feel less uncomfortable and started paying attention to the presenter's words on the screen.
"And now, make some noise for the players representing the Central League!" - The presenter announced enthusiastically.
"Ohhhh, hey Jiro, look! It's starting!" - Shun got excited as he watched the Central League players enter the field.
"Ah" - Jiro was surprised by Shun's sudden excitement. He also looked at the screen and saw the players coming in, but he didn't share Shun's enthusiasm. Read more content on m-vl-em-pyr
"Man, look at this, Matsuda and Murakami on the same team! You only see that in the national team!" - Shun got up from the sofa and approached the TV, saying excitedly while keeping his eyes glued to the screen.
"Um, are they good?" - Jiro asked, confused, clearly not familiar with the world of professional baseball.
"What?!" - Shun turned his head in shock. He couldn't believe Jiro didn't know the two biggest Japanese baseball stars. But before he could say anything, a delicious smell reached his nose as Mrs. Fukuoka entered the room.
"Hey boys, I made some onigiri!" - Mrs. Fukuoka said with a smile as she brought in a tray full of rice balls, a popular snack in Japan.
"Ohh! Thank you, Mrs. Fukuoka!" - Shun quickly bowed and thanked her. He then dove into the onigiri without a hint of table manners, making Jiro and his mother laugh.
"And now, the representatives of the Pacific League!" - The presenter's voice came from the TV, immediately grabbing Shun's attention.
"José Martínez!" - Shun shouted excitedly as the superstar appeared on the screen, not even bothering to finish chewing.
* cough cough * - Shun began to turn red as he choked on the food.
"Ahhh, water! Jiro, pat his back!" - Mrs. Fukuoka said in a panic as she rushed to the kitchen to get some water.
"Oh, right." - Jiro nodded, then quickly went to tell his mom that Shun was leaving. After a few minutes of saying goodbye to Mrs. Fukuoka and hearing that he should come back more often to "play" with Jiro, Shun finally managed to leave Jiro's house.
"Wait a minute, senpai!" - Jiro shouted as he ran out of his house to the sidewalk where Shun was.
"What is it?" - Shun stopped in his tracks and turned around.
"I'm sorry!" - Jiro said loudly, bowing 90 degrees toward Shun.
"Huh? What are you doing?" - Shun looked at him calmly and asked.
"I-I was wrong. I shouldn't have said I was quitting baseball! I was pathetic, I let you down, the coach, Captain Kazuki, and everyone else who helped and believed in me!" - Jiro stuttered a bit, but he managed to gather the courage needed to admit his mistakes.
"Let me down, huh?" - Shun became a bit pensive when he heard Jiro's words, but he quickly continued with a calm expression:
"Jiro, if you play baseball for my sake, or for the coach, or anyone else, you should quit baseball as soon as possible!"
"Huh?" - Jiro was confused. He didn't expect to hear something like that from Shun.
"If you're playing for someone else, it makes no sense to continue. But you know... as someone who once quit baseball, if you feel frustrated every time you're hit, if you feel confident every time you strike out the batter, if you step on the mound and feel the expectations of all your teammates and that gives you strength...
if you truly love baseball, Jiro, you'll probably regret quitting." - Shun didn't wait for his kohai's response. He turned around and began walking home, leaving Jiro standing there, unsure of what to say.
"Haha, actually, even if you stay on the team, Jiro, don't think you'll be pitching whenever you want!" - Shun stopped and spoke with a laugh.
"What?" - Jiro asked reflexively, still not fully absorbing all of Shun's words.
"You know, I'm still a pitcher!" - Shun said with a smile as he continued walking.