Shun arrived at the school baseball field after class. Today was the only break between the first and second rounds of the Tokyo tournament, which means there were a lot of things he had to prepare
After discussing Suzuhara's pitcher with Coach Yamada, it was decided that today's practice would focus on hitting fastballs, so all the players began batting against the pitching machines.
Since Sora had pitched the day before and Jiro was scheduled to pitch tomorrow, Shun was the only pitcher training in the bullpen. He did his best not to let the home runs hit off him by the José Martínez hologram affect his confidence, focusing instead on improving the control of his various sliders.
Currently, Shun had three different sliders, or at least, that's how he liked to think of them. Of the three, the only one he could somewhat control was his horizontal slider. His vertical slider was like a wild card, Shun never knew where it would land.
His third pitch was even worse since it was inherently bad. Shun discovered a way to throw a slider with almost no movement, a hanging slider. For most pitchers, a hanging slider was a death sentence, often hit over the fence. But for Shun, it served as a kind of fastball.
Of course, Shun didn't expect this pitch to work against elite hitters, but having a pitch he could place in the strike zone at will was crucial, it could save him from issuing too many walks.
The team wrapped up practice earlier than usual since Coach Yamada didn't want to exhaust anyone before the game. Shun also decided to do his workout at home. If he stayed at the field, his crazy friends would undoubtedly join him, and since they didn't have his Divine Recovery quirk, it would only end up hurting them.
So, Shun headed home and started his workout routine in the garden.
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Meanwhile, at the baseball field of Hokuto Junior High School...
"Ahhhh, man, this is so boring! I didn't know qualifying early for the Kanto tournament would be this dull!" - A white-haired boy complained as he lay sprawled out on the ground. That was Yoshinori Sugawara, the catcher and captain of Hokuto.
The entire Hokuto team stood around him, drenched in sweat, hands on their knees, struggling to catch their breath after completing Sugawara's brutal practice session. Meanwhile, the one responsible for their suffering was lying on the ground as if he had just taken a leisurely walk through the park.
At the same time, at the Tokyo Nakano Senior baseball field...
"Hey Mika, Hana! Looks like the coach gave us the day off tomorrow!" - Kaori announced with a smile as she approached.
"Oh, really? What should we do?" - Hana asked eagerly. As managers of a senior league team, they rarely got a weekday off, and the prospect excited her.
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"I think Shun's game is tomorrow..." - Mika murmured, recalling her brother's words from breakfast. Before she could say more, Hana and Kaori exchanged smiles.
"Perfect! We should bring the boys along!" - Hana said, her smile radiant, if Shun had been there, he might have passed out from the sight.
"Hm, they'll love the idea!" - Kaori agreed enthusiastically, and the two girls hurried off to tell the boys, leaving a stunned Mika behind.
"Hehe, I hope Shun doesn't get mad at me..." - Mika chuckled as she realized she had invited a whole group to her brother's game without even telling him. But the thought of Shun's flustered expression when he saw Hana in the stands made her laugh. She followed her friends, feeling no guilt at all.
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Unaware of all this, Shun lay in bed after dinner. He decided to challenge the José Martínez hologram again. This time, he was determined to throw at least one pitch that wouldn't result in a home run, if only to salvage a bit of his pride.
Unfortunately for Shun, his training partner had no mercy. Pitch after pitch, the hologram of José Martínez crushed every ball, sending them flying out of the virtual stadium.
Shun went to bed feeling utterly defeated, his pitches shattered and his dignity in tatters. The boy could still hear the old man's annoying laugh inside his head.