"Phew!
I could feel what Senior Chris had told me before...
Every sentence, even every single word, was gradually sinking deep into my heart...
Going even deeper... melding into my body!!
I'll become stronger!!" Sawamura panted as he walked to the bench, preparing to rest for a while.
"Phew!!
I need to improve my chances of hitting the sweet spot even more!!
I'll go hit another hundred balls later!" Wiping away his sweat, Sawamura thought to himself, completely failing to notice that Sendou was sitting nearby.
"Your expression's gotten much better!" Okumura, who was preparing to go catch, saw Sawamura and spoke to him.
"Huh?"
Startled because he had been too focused, Sawamura turned around and noticed that Okumura had already walked up beside him. He gave Sendou a slight nod in greeting, then began taking off his gear.
"Uh!" Seeing that it was Okumura, Sawamura seemed to choke up.
Even now, Sawamura was still a little afraid of this "terrifying" Young Wolf.
At that moment, the Young Wolf's Fighting Spirit was quietly rising as well.
Most of the First Team players were doing self-practice in the Indoor Practice Field, and the two classmates in particular stimulated him every day.
After his thoughts were interrupted, Sawamura blankly watched Okumura finish that sentence and then fall silent, calmly putting on his gear. For a moment, he had no idea what to say.
"You really want it, don't you?
...the ace Back Number!"
Not making Sawamura wait long, Okumura spoke again as he sat on the bench and wrapped his legs, taking a chance to rest.
"..." Sawamura froze at the question.
Because he had talked with Sendou about it before, and because he had been completely focused on what was in front of him, Sawamura had nearly forgotten about the ace