Kōshū sensed that something was wrong with his body, but he did not dare dwell on it. He set a time limit for himself. Two more days. I'll pitch for two more days. If there's still a problem...
He felt that although the Summer Koshien had ended, the taut string inside him had not loosened. Instead, his current physical condition only wound it tighter.
The team had faced many sudden problems lately. On the pitching side, Eijun's altered form had cost him the entire Autumn Tournament.
On defense, even as recently as the practice game before last, the players on the field had still been changing. There was less and less time until the official games, yet the First String roster had not been finalized, and the infield's coordination still seemed somewhat rough.
At the plate, the overall numbers had been sluggish. In recent games, Kōshū, a pitcher, had surpassed first baseman Maezono and become part of the team's cleanup lineup.
It was not just the numbers. Personnel issues had surfaced as well, and it seemed that some turmoil had broken out within the team. Fortunately, it had been quickly contained and had not reached the manager's ears.
When Kōshū went to ask Miyuki, the other boy poured out a whole bellyful of complaints. As catcher, cleanup hitter, and captain, he had to be far stronger than everyone else while also leading the others forward.
For Miyuki, who sometimes lacked empathy, it was truly an exhausting job.
Were you like that with Senior Tanba too? Did you skip all the buildup and just state your opinion outright? What Kōshū had said during the Summer Koshien suddenly made Miyuki understand things he had never considered before. For example, truly effective communication must be built on mutual respect, and *humans evolved language