Let's Have a Pleasant Beatdown!

Several years later, in winter

Sendou would be entering the fourth grade of elementary school the following spring. His father, who rarely had free time, took the whole family out to play. In his parents' eyes, Sendou possessed a composure far beyond other children his age.

Moreover, Japan's education system gave Sendou a good autonomous environment where he could refuse certain things—like the children's amusement facilities that other kids liked.

"Clang!"

Suddenly, the sound of metal striking metal caught Sendou's attention.

"Akila (Sendou heard the non-standard pronunciation, but he liked this one; from now on, it'll stay this way. Just know that 'Akira' is the correct pronunciation.), that's a batting center for baseball. Basically, it's a sport where you hit a ball with a bat. (What a lame explanation.)"

Seeing the direction his son was looking, Sendou's father explained.

This truly piqued Sendou's curiosity. In his previous life, although he had watched plenty of anime and manga about such things, he had never seen them with his own eyes.

Without needing to say anything, seeing the curious look in Sendou's eyes, his father led the family into the batting center.

As soon as they entered, there weren't many people inside—after all, it was winter—but the sounds of various impacts still rang out incessantly.

"Want to give it a try?" Seeing his son, who was usually uninterested in everything, finally show a bit of curiosity, his father began to encourage him.

"Mm!"

Sendou was indeed drawn in by his curiosity and nodded.

"Alright, I'll take you to a place suitable for kids."

After that, Sendou's father brought him to an area with a ball speed appropriate for children.

Unlike the entrance area, this place had many parents playing with their kids.

There were also some children practicing.

After a brief instruction from the staff on how to operate the machine, Sendou entered the pitching machine area.

He walked into a room with a sign outside that read "100km~120km," while his parents watched from outside.

After casually swinging the bat a few times to get used to its weight, he inserted a token into the machine and stood in the left batter's box.

"Clank, clank, swoosh! Thud!"

After a series of noises from the machine, a ball shot out and slammed heavily into the adjacent panel, startling Sendou.

Or rather, the sound startled him. The parents of the other children nearby also looked over.

"Is this your first time here? Your son is so young; he shouldn't be in such a fast zone."

A kind-hearted person was explaining this to Sendou's parents, who didn't really understand much themselves.

They just wanted their son, who was at this age, to experience what it was like to hit a ball at a certain speed.

"I see, thank you. I really don't know much about this. My son saw this for the first time and wanted to try it out, just to satisfy his curiosity," Sendou's mother quickly thanked them.

The interval between each pitch wasn't too short, so there was plenty of time in between. Sendou was startled by the first ball.

But he quickly adjusted, realizing he needed to hit the ball.

Suddenly, he felt that experiencing this for the first time was quite interesting, and a sense of eagerness welled up inside him.

So Sendou seriously picked up the bat. He wasn't sure if his grip was correct, but it felt comfortable and conducive to generating power.

"Swoosh!"

"Thud!"

After another clatter, the second ball shot out and hit the back panel. This time, Sendou didn't even think about swinging.

He had been startled by the first ball, so this time he wanted to carefully observe the ball's speed.

Sendou's parents were even amused by his serious, grown-up demeanor as he observed.

"Clank, clank, swoosh!"

"Clang!"

The distinctive sound of a metal bat hitting a ball suddenly rang out.

Sendou used a swing starting posture that professionals would consider terrible and inefficient for generating power.

But as he swung, the bat's speed was top-tier. With a completely uncoordinated motion, he sent the ball flying high into the air.

By elementary school field standards, it barely qualified as a long hit trajectory.

The parents nearby who saw this had surprised expressions.

But Sendou didn't notice any of that. His eyes lit up—the feeling of the bat connecting with the ball gave him an indescribable sense of satisfaction.

So he assumed his stance again, completely ignoring the "Amazing!" exclamations from the parents outside.

After that, Sendou hit almost every ball that came, and every hit connected. Moreover, as he adapted to the bat's weight, the ball flew farther and farther. On just his fifth swing, he hit a center field home run.

Keep in mind, this was a 100km pitch. Even for a middle schooler swinging at a pitching machine ball for the first time, hitting a home run would be a sign of extraordinary talent—let alone a home run to the deepest part of center field.

More and more parents gathered to watch Sendou.

After finishing one token's worth of pitches, Sendou walked a few steps to the pitching machine's coin slot, fiddled with it for a while, completed the insertion, and returned to the batter's box.

"Swoosh!"

"Smack!"

Sendou didn't swing the first time, but the onlookers clearly noticed the ball was faster. Anyone could see this kid hadn't had his fill yet—he'd been figuring out how to speed up the Pitching Machine just now!

"Whoosh!"

"Bam!" The second pitch hit, but the sound made it obvious he hadn't caught the center of the ball. Still, the ball speed was fast, barely slipping through the infield.

"Amazing!"

"Is this really his first time? That ball speed's clearly 120 kilometers per hour, and he's this small—is he a monster?"

The crowd buzzed with chatter.

By now, Sendou was completely absorbed. He couldn't hear anyone else at all.

"Whoosh!"

"Clang!"

This time, he hit the center of the ball perfectly. The white ball shot backward, bounced on landing, and rolled out—another Long Hit trajectory.

"What a monster. He's practically a Long Hit machine."

Sendou's parents listened to the praise around them. They didn't know much about baseball, but they understood their son must be pretty impressive.

That day, Sendou had a blast. The so-called fastballs others talked about didn't feel fast to him at all.

The intense shock that rippled through him when the bat and ball collided was addictive. He swung away for a long, satisfying time.

It wasn't until his parents called him to leave that he let out a deep breath and walked out. The compliments from the crowd made him a little embarrassed.

"Akila, want to give it a try?"

"You're almost in fourth grade. I just heard someone say the little league team takes fourth through sixth graders. If you want, I can sign you up for formal baseball lessons."

"Fourth grade's about the right time to think about picking up a sport, and your school will have a sports day too, right?"

Sendou was stunned. He loved the feeling of hitting just now, but he'd never thought about learning baseball.

Still, hearing his father say that, he knew he couldn't just stay cooped up at home forever. His dream of being a shut-in was out of the question.

But compared to running wild with kids his age, learning baseball with a proper youth team didn't sound bad.

"Next year, I want to join a team. Find me a good one! But if I'm going to play, I want to join a strong team! I'm counting on you, Dad!"

"Alright! Leave it to me! I'll find you a good team. Now, let's go home and eat!" Sendou's father said with a smile, ruffling his son's hair.

Chapter two was the protagonist's first encounter with baseball. Sendou, who dreamed of being a happy shut-in and a member of the Going-Home Club, ultimately couldn't escape his fate.