Chapter 446: Everyone's Progress
In the end—
When it was already late at night and everyone was getting ready to rest—
Ota still hadn't mustered the courage to ask.
Wearing a conflicted expression and feeling deeply frustrated, he left the office in silence.
That night—
Seidou High's baseball club director, the honorable Ota, couldn't sleep a wink. He spent the entire night pondering a single, serious question:
Could the gap in intelligence between people really be that huge?
And so, the next morning—
Our dear Ota showed up with full-blown panda eyes, which gave Rei Takashima quite a fright.
Under Rei's gentle and concerned care—
Ota's heart was a storm of resentment.
Like—who do you think is to blame for this, huh?
But let's put Ota's situation aside for now.
On the other side, after Rei Takashima had passed on Coach Kataoka's preliminary decision to team captain Miyuki—
A few whispers about the potential starting lineup began to spread through the team.
Of course, something like this—
Wasn't exactly a closely guarded secret.
In fact, sometimes letting this kind of information leak—just a little—was a deliberate move to motivate the players.
Naturally, Coach Kataoka and the others didn't mind it.
Besides, this was just an initial plan. There was still plenty of time to change things.
After all, there was still a whole week before the semifinal.
During that time—
Whether it was player form improving or the coaching staff coming up with new strategies—
Anything was possible.
Rei had simply told Miyuki ahead of time to help him prepare.
And the rumors being passed around the team were vague and noncommittal on purpose—to keep players on edge and driven.
Of course, this sort of approach had to be handled with care.
You had to get the balance just right.
Otherwise, it could backfire and stir up anxiety instead of motivation.
Finding that balance—
Even someone like Rei Takashima had mastered it.
Seidou High School — A-Side Field — Bullpen
Whizz—
Thump!
"Okay, okay, okay—that's a nice trajectory! Just like Coach Ochiai said: don't force your arm to curve. With your velocity, if your form is right, that vertical slider will naturally break. That last pitch felt great. You need to commit that arm motion to memory, Furuya."
Behind the plate, Miyuki smoothly caught the ball and called out to Furuya with a smile.
"Yes."
Furuya nodded slightly and replied softly.
He looked down at his right hand, gave it a light squeeze, then opened it again. A look of satisfaction flashed across his eyes.
"As long as you maintain proper form, the next thing to work on is your control within the strike zone. Your slider is still breaking too far outside. If it doesn't reach the zone or can't fool the batter, then the pitch is meaningless. Got it, Furuya?"
"I understand."
Furuya nodded firmly and answered in a quiet but determined voice.
"Alright. Ono, you catch for Furuya next."
Miyuki nodded in approval, then stood and called out to Ono nearby.
"Huh? Me?"
Ono blinked in surprise.
Furuya, a short distance away, also froze.
"Ah, yeah—I still need to head over to Sawamura's side next. That guy might've run off to train with Chris-senpai, but he's still our ace. As the catcher, I've got to keep a constant eye on him."
Miyuki said it lightly, with a faint smile on his face.
"He is the ace, after all."
Not far away, the moment Furuya heard those words, he instinctively clenched his right hand, his lips tightening into a thin line. Just for a second—
A subtle flicker of emotion flashed through his eyes.
"Oh, I get it. Leave Furuya to me, then."
Ono, completely oblivious to Furuya's reaction, patted his chest and smiled confidently at Miyuki.
Miyuki, just before stepping out of the bullpen, glanced back with a sly curve to his eyes.
As he passed by Furuya, a mischievous grin briefly danced across his face.
Then, he turned and left the bullpen, heading toward the indoor training area.
"Yeah, I can't pull this too often—but sometimes, giving this simple guy a little nudge like that really works. And that Sawamura… maybe it's time to remind him who the senpai is."
Miyuki walked while stroking his chin, the reflection on his protective glasses glinting brightly. He chuckled to himself and muttered in a low voice.
"Achoo…"
At that very moment—
Inside the indoor training facility—
Eijun suddenly sneezed out of nowhere. A chill ran up his spine, making him shiver slightly. He rubbed his nose, a puzzled look flashing across his face.
Weird. It's not even cold today.
"What's wrong, Sawamura?"
Chris, who was crouched in a catching stance nearby, stood up immediately. His calm and gentle face wore a look of sincere concern. His bright blue eyes were filled with nothing but pure care.
He asked Eijun in a soft, soothing voice.
"Haha, no big deal, Chris-senpai. Probably just someone talking bad about me behind my back. Wouldn't be surprised if it's Miyuki-senpai."
Sometimes—
There really is something to that pitcher-catcher telepathy.
But let's not go there…
Of course, Eijun only said it as a joke. He didn't actually think Miyuki was scheming behind his back.
But as it turns out—
It was their devious captain plotting something behind the scenes.
Which just goes to show: fate works in mysterious ways.
"Heh… you two, seriously."
Chris chuckled warmly, his tone filled with the fondness of an older brother doting on a mischievous little sibling.
"Hehe."
Eijun laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.
"Chris-senpai, what did you think of that last pitch?"
"Hmm… the break was sharp, and you kept both the height and width inside the strike zone. Based on that, I think it's ready to be used in actual games."
Chris couldn't help but recall that last two-seamer from Eijun. A pleased and approving expression appeared on his face as he responded.
"But one thing—since that pitch relies heavily on your arm motion, it's not that easy to control the release height. In games, you'll need to be especially mindful of that."
After giving Eijun a compliment, Chris quickly shifted gears and pointed out the flaw in Eijun's recent two-seamers.
As mentioned a long time ago—
Among Eijun's various pitch types and trajectories,
Some are thrown using a delivery that hides the release point with his right arm acting like a wall.
While others are thrown with a standard motion, where the release point is visible to the batter.
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