Eventually, she turned her attention to Takumi.
No surprise there.
Let's be real, he was the headline.
Azuma Kiyokuni's home run was cool, sure, but he was already a famous slugger.
He already had over forty home runs under his belt.
A home run from him was almost expected.
He just happened to get lucky with the bases loaded.
But Takumi? He was different.
Seidō's rivals were watching him like hawks, and so were the media and the fans.
This rookie just popped up out of nowhere and became their secret weapon.
And he struck out, like, eight or nine guys in a row in his first tournament.
Can any random rookie do that?
Even the Ace probably couldn't, right?
Everyone's dying to know more.
What was his deal? What was his story?
And that's exactly what the reporters want to find out.
Minamoto Haruka offered a charming smile, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.
His teammates were staring at him too.
They promised her an interview, so they couldn't back out now.
But the Coach had been clear: nobody talks about Takumi's past without permission.
After all, their two arch-rivals were probably already scrambling for information.
Inashiro couldn't have seen this coming, and even if Ichidaisan had heard rumors, they hadn't seen him in action.
They were definitely scrambling now.
And that's exactly what Seidō wanted.
He'd already shown his hand, so let them guess. They couldn't risk leaking anything.
That would be a major screw-up.
"It feels great. I especially love being on the mound," Takumi remarked nonchalantly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Yoshida, the Ace, shot him a look.
Even though Takumi was clearly talented, Yoshida couldn't help but feel a little threatened.
"Since joining the team, the Coach and the upperclassmen have really taken me under their wing. At first, I couldn't even keep up with practice, and they guided me every step of the way—" Takumi stated smoothly, with a straight face.
His teammates all looked down, embarrassed.
They wanted to disappear into the ground.
They hadn't exactly bullied him, but they hadn't exactly gone out of their way to help him, either.
During running drills, they'd left him in the dust.
From their point of view, it wasn't a big deal.
That was just how things were.
The best players made the First String, no matter what year they were in.
Third-year players didn't get a free pass, and rookies didn't get special treatment.
But for a new guy, that was a tough situation to be in.
They'd all been there when they first made the cut.
It was just that their bodies hadn't been quite as far behind back then.
Takumi, totally clueless about his teammates reactions, kept going with his story: "After joining the team, we had all these tryouts. The Coach saw I had a knack for pitching, so he had me start practicing—"
His teammates looked at each other, confused.
Were they losing it?
Didn't they remember him pitching in that practice game, blowing everyone away?
That's why he'd been bumped up to the First String right away.
Plus, he'd challenged some of the best hitters as soon as he'd joined.
That's when everyone realized it.
The best pitcher wasn't the Ace, it was this rookie, Takumi.
That's when everyone knew he was their secret weapon.
How could his story be so… off?
Minamoto blinked, listening in stunned silence.
"Yamamoto-san, if you don't mind me asking, how long have you been pitching?" she asked carefully, wondering if she was getting too personal.
Hearing her question, Takumi held up one finger.
"One year?" Minamoto's voice rose slightly in surprise.
"Just over a month," Takumi clarified matter-of-fact.
His teammates faces twisted into something between a grimace and a laugh.
Seriously?
Hadn't he said he'd been practicing on his own for, like, two years, perfecting that crazy spiral ball?
Why was he saying he'd only been practicing for a month now?
"Genius!" Minamoto exclaimed breathlessly, unable to believe her ears.
Her eyes practically sparkled as she looked at him.
Not in a romantic way, exactly.
It was the pure, unadulterated excitement of a reporter stumbling upon a baseball prodigy.
In her eyes, Takumi was a goldmine.
Plus, his story was just too perfect. She was already itching to write it all down.
The Story of a Baseball Genius Making a Stunning Debut at a Prestigious High School!
A Future Baseball Star Born Under the System of a Prestigious High School!
"Let's wrap up the interview here, Yamamoto-san. Can I get your contact info?" she asked hopefully.
"Sure thing," Takumi replied casually, completely unfazed.
But since he didn't have his phone on him, they couldn't swap numbers right then and there.
Minamoto had already memorized his number anyway.
She couldn't wait to get back and start writing.
She just knew this article was going to be huge.
After seeing the reporter off, the team finally headed for the bus.
The area around the bus was deserted, not a reporter in sight.
Coach Kataoka had clearly scared them all off.
"What took you so long?" he asked, looking puzzled.
They should have been changed and ready to go by now.
The players, lowered their heads down like scolded children, didn't dare to say a word.