Takashima Rei's evaluation continued until the end of the game. In this game, Sawamura Eijun pitched six innings and lost 5 points. Fortunately, Seido scored 9 points in total and won the victory.
Everyone happily packed up and went to have dinner. Eijun was of course the happiest one, but after eating a bowl of rice, he always felt that something was missing. He told his companions that Lang Zhi silently took him a box of Natto from the dining table.
"So! That's not it. Don't come over!"
The two people made a mess on the table, and the third grade saw it and punished them to clean up the dining room. Eijun naturally put all the questions in his mind aside until the three of them returned to the dormitory after taking a shower, and happened to bump into a sleepy Kōshū opening the door and coming out.
"Ah! I remembered! You are the one missing!" Haruichi and Lang Zhi, who were jointly punished, were speechless.
"Huh?" Kōshū question mark.
"I'll send you a message asking you to come to my game!"
"Sorry, I fell asleep as soon as I came back, so I didn't see it. How was it today?"
"Hahaha, I showed off my power today and defeated the opponent!" Eijun put his hands on his hips, looking proud and waiting for praise.
"That's really awesome. Does the straight shot feel good?" Kōshū asked Lang Zhi with his eyes.
"Absolutely. I got about a dozen hits and lost 5 runs." Lang Zhi inserted the knife.
Just as Eijun was about to turn around and glare at Lang Zhi, a hand held his head. "Yo west! You are growing, but let me go to the toilet first and come back to talk in detail, okay?"
"Then I'll go with you!" Eijun followed Kōshū, chattering about his game.
The two of them were left looking at each other.
"Eijun is this type? Why does it feel like he has changed a lot recently?"
"Yeah, he's obviously an only child." Still so clingy.
By the time Eijun finally explained every aspect of the game clearly, it was already 9:30, and their position had become dormitory No. 4. The two seniors who lived together had not returned yet, but Furuya had already arrived on time.
"Starting today, I will tell you about the changes in the layout of the stadium. This is the position of all nine people at the beginning. Each figure represents a fielder." Kōshū held up a picture of Nine-Player Field Layout Diagram that he drew himself and asked two rookie pitchers, "Excuse me, if the batter hits a ground ball in front of the pitcher, what should these nine people do? Use arrows to draw their direction of travel."
Sawamura raised his hand. This was a good habit he developed after being 'beaten up'.
"Sawamura, classmate, tell me."
"Excuse me, teacher, why do you need to mark the direction of travel of others?"
"Good question, Furuya, you have been training with First String for a few days, what do you think?"
"Huh?" Student Furuya, who was suddenly called, panicked and began to pretend to be asleep.
"Hey, don't pretend to sleep under my nose. If you don't know it, just say you can't." Kōshū is troubled by his habit of escaping, and will guide him to express his true thoughts whenever he has the opportunity.
"... Cooperate?"
"... don't you know this very well?" As soon as Kōshū said these words, the classmate Sawamura next to him panicked, what? Both First String understand it, but I don't understand?
"As a pitcher, once the ball is released, he is the ninth defender on the field. He must understand where his teammates are at this time and how he needs to cooperate. So today I will start to tell you about the layout. By the way, these things in junior high school or even elementary school Baseball Club is already teaching it! So Seido doesn't teach it, it's not that these things are not important, it's just that these things are like washing hands after meals, and all kindergarten students know it!" I don't know why, Kōshū was a little speechless at the end.
Two kindergarten classmates came over and patted Kōshū on the shoulders, "I understand how you feel."
You understand the devil, in order to extend your life as a pitcher, you have to train two amateur pitchers from scratch. It is really the player's heart and the coach's fate.
"So, if no one is on base, at this time, the infielders return to their own bases, the shortstop goes behind the second baseman, the three outfielders move forward at the same time, and the pitcher passes the ball to the first baseman." Kōshū cooperated with the explanation and drew everyone's movements on the schematic diagram.
"If there is someone on second base at this time..." Kōshū erased the handwriting and continued to explain.
This small class lasted until after 10 o'clock. Senior Nanmu opened the door today and saw three first-grade pitchers gathered together. "What are you studying today?"
"After the ball is hit, where does everyone run?" Eijun replied seriously.
"Then you must practice more. Once you form a habit, you can do it without thinking."
"Hey——! I will do it!" Just as it was time for the two of them to leave, Eijun stood up and said, "Brother, I'm sorry for bothering you today, thank you very much! I'll take my leave now!"
"So, what TV show are you watching..."
The first graders who were in great spirits left, and it seemed that the light in the room was two points weaker.
Kusunoki The mood that had just improved returned to a pool of water. The feeling of saying goodbye, lamenting the passage of time, and the uncertainty of future life, all kinds of emotions were brewing in the bottom of my heart, emerging like bubbles from the bottom of the lake, and finally exploded on the surface of the lake. It was sour, 'They still have two and a half years to come, but we only have half a year left. '
"Hey -" Kusunoki sighed, and was surprised to find himself making a sound, "Sorry, did I sigh out loud?"
"Senior Nanmu——" Kōshū said helplessly, "Should I pretend not to hear at this time?"
"Hahaha, tomorrow is another morning game, go to bed early, don't you still want Starting Left Field?"
"... I slept for two hours this afternoon, but I feel a little less sleepy." Kōshū knew that there was a competition the next day, and being in the mood to sleep the day before might be considered too unmotivated. There was no way. He wanted to recover and train at a slow pace, but as soon as he arrived at the sports field, he couldn't help but want to keep up with everyone's rhythm, and finally made himself very tired. Instead of doing this, it was better to go back to the dormitory, cover his head and take a nap to rest.
"Then I'll go to bed first."
Kōshū turned off the lights. It was estimated that everyone was taking a rest one after another at this time, which was just enough for him to practice alone, so he took the bat and went out.
After only 10 minutes of waving, at the other end of the road, someone came back covered in moonlight.
"Senior Chris? You are back from rehabilitation."
"Yeah."
"I heard that Eijun is pestering you recently."
"Well, to be honest, it's annoying."
But it seemed that senior Chris had taught Sawamura a lot of things. Just as he was about to speak, a familiar voice came from behind.
"Oh, oh, oh, it's so lively. It's obviously late at night, but there are still so many people in this place."
Kōshū didn't want to pay attention to him, walked to the side and swung the bat, listening to the two catchers chatting.
"Are you discussing Sawamura? What's going on? Many people are concerned about him recently."
"He has finally been able to concentrate on practicing recently."
"Isn't it great? Isn't it the catcher's job to train a pitcher with zero basic knowledge?"
"But Senior Miyuki, there is always a strange hint of childishness in your words." The pitcher next to him was dissatisfied.
"What's wrong? Aren't you and Hayakawa just like each other? Am I wrong?"
"It's a big mistake!" He clearly made up his mind not to take Miyuki's comments, but after joining First String, the two of them quarreled more and more often.
"Haha." Chris next to him rarely chuckled, "It sounds interesting, but there is only half a year left, and I can't care about that much now. Whether you can go to Koshien this year depends entirely on you."
The two watched the light elongate the man's leaving figure, leaving only the sound of wind filling the silence around them. Miyuki just smiled and wanted to say something to the pitcher on the opposite side, when they saw the man yawning in a scribble. "Sleepy, let's go now."
"Hey, do I still want to talk?"
"If you have anything to say, let's talk about it tomorrow." Kōshū's pace became faster and faster.
"Tomorrow! Pass the ball back to home! Remember to hit the ground!"
These words made the pitcher suddenly grasp the loophole. "Why, you don't dare to catch the ball that is directly returned?!"
"Huh? Just be safe."
"I know, I will pass the ball directly back to home tomorrow." Kōshū waved his hand backwards, and his voice followed his footsteps and turned into the dormitory.
"Really..." Miyuki's eyebrows turned into splayed eyebrows, "Why do you come to me? It's like you are in the rebellious stage..."