The rest of the training went very well. Since they still didn't know who their opponent in the first round of the tournament would be, there was no way for them to prepare for anything specific. Because of this, Coach Yamada decided to work on the fundamentals and try to keep the players' physical conditioning in good shape.
In the bullpen, Shun made sure that Jiro and Sora maintained their normal training routines. Both of them already had a good arsenal, and as long as they could control the ball well and follow Daigo's calls, they should be able to hold their ground against any team in the Kanto tournament. Because of this, Shun didn't want the two pitchers to try creating anything new or overdoing their training with less than a week left before the tournament.
After Coach Yamada finished the training session, Shun went back to the field to work on his list of exercises, but before doing so, he had to ensure that Jiro, Sora, and Daigo went home. The three young players naturally wanted to stay and join Shun for extra training, but Shun knew it wouldn't be good for them, considering the effort they would have to put in over the upcoming weekend.
That way, only Shun, Kenta, and Ren stayed on the field to go through the list of exercises. Shun knew that Kenta and Ren's physical conditioning was much better than the others', and he also knew it was much easier to send the second-year students home than his two stubborn friends. Because of this, he had no problem letting the two join him for extra training today. Of course, he would probably make them stop the extra training as they got closer to the weekend.
"What is it, Ryosuke?" - Shun was about to start his list of exercises when Kenta spoke, drawing Shun's attention to the boy walking towards them.
"Ehh, I'd like to join you for the extra training if that's not a problem." - Ryosuke said politely as he bowed slightly to the three boys.
Kenta and Ren looked a bit surprised at Ryosuke. They still hadn't gotten used to this polite version of the boy, let alone his dedicated version. But before either of them could speak, Shun replied.
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"Alright, as long as you don't get in our way, you can." - Shun said coldly, giving Ryosuke a skeptical look. He still wasn't sure how much of the boy's change was genuine or just an act.
"Thank you, Senpai!" - Ryosuke quickly said as he ran excitedly toward Shun and the others.
"Hey Shun, is this really okay? Didn't you tell Jiro and the others to go home so they wouldn't get too tired for the tournament?" - Kenta asked, a bit suspicious of Shun's intentions.
"Bro!" - As soon as Shun stepped into the kitchen, he was surprised by a little girl shouting and running toward him.
"Hey Yumi!" - Shun said with a smile as he picked the little girl up in his arms.
"Bro, you've been training a lot for the next tournament, right?" - Yumi asked curiously, looking at her brother with her big blue eyes.
"Huh? Yeah..." - Shun was a bit surprised by the little girl's question but quickly replied.
"Alright, then I'll cheer even louder in your next game!" - Little Yumi raised her fist as she spoke determinedly. The little girl had probably noticed how much effort her brother had been putting into baseball over the past few days and wanted to help him somehow.
"Oh, thank you!" - Shun smiled as he patted the little girl's head. Little did Yumi know, but at that moment, she helped Shun more than she could imagine. With so many responsibilities piling up on Shun's shoulders, small moments like this helped the boy relieve some of the pressure.
"Hey Mom, isn't Dad coming home tonight?" - Shun then looked at his mother, who was behind the counter, and asked.
"It's game night. He'll be back later, son." - Aiko said as she finished preparing the food.
"Oh, that's right, I forgot. Hehe!" - Shun smiled sheepishly before taking his little sister to the table and waiting for the food.
Even though his father would be staying home this week and would be able to watch the Kanto tournament, that didn't mean the man had stopped working. In fact, his father had probably told Shun about the Yomiuri Giants game today, but Shun must have forgotten since the boy's mind could only think about the Kanto tournament in a few days.
Shun then had dinner while chatting with his mother and sisters. As always, he ate as much as he could before heading back to his room and collapsing onto his bed.