"What are you talking about?" Miyuki rolled his eyes at Kanzaki Ryou. "Hitting isn't just about power. Technique, swing speed, timing, and pitch selection are all just as important."
"You really think a lot, huh?" Ryou chuckled. "You can train all that yourself, but how about I join you for leg training?"
"Huh?" Miyuki gave him a suspicious look, then realized, "You're the one who wants me to join you, aren't you?"
Ryou's eyes darted away as he looked up at the sky, whistling innocently. "No way. I just think your hitting's too bad, so I want to help you."
"I'd be a ghost if I believed that."
Even though they hadn't known each other long, Miyuki already had a good grasp of Ryou's personality. With a resigned sigh, he said, "Didn't Senior Chris make a training plan for you? Send me a copy tonight, and I'll see where we can fit in some leg work."
"Oh, you agreed? I knew you were a good guy." Ryou grinned and patted Miyuki's shoulder.
"I'll give you a gift in a couple of days."
At the mention of a gift, Miyuki's gloomy expression instantly brightened. "A gift? What kind of gift?"
"You'll find out soon enough," Ryou said mysteriously. Of course, if Miyuki knew that his "gift" was actually another brutal training exercise, Ryou was pretty sure he'd get punched.
That night, Coach Kataoka gathered the first-string players for a pre-game meeting and announced the starting lineup for the next day.
For the pitcher position, third-year ace Nanjo Taishi would start, Tanba Koichiro would serve as reliever, and Kanzaki Ryou would close the game.
Of course, that was the ideal scenario. If Seidou fell too far behind, Coach Kataoka would make adjustments on the spot.
Back in the dorm, Ryou snapped a picture of Chris's training plan and sent it to Miyuki.
"Ryou," a calm voice called out.
"Huh? Something wrong, Senior Chris?" Ryou turned his head and caught the baseball Chris tossed at him.
"Miyuki told me you were trying out a new pitch this afternoon?" Chris smiled faintly.
Ryou nodded, secretly cursing Miyuki for being such a big mouth.
"Not going well?"
"Hmm, a small problem," Ryou admitted vaguely.
Chris chuckled. "A cutter with no movement and a wild slider—those are small problems?"
"Wild?" Ryou blinked, then scowled. "That loudmouth! Not only is he a snitch, he's full of crap."
"Senior Chris, my slider isn't wild. It's a one-of-a-kind, super amazing breaking pitch!"
Hearing Ryou praise himself so boldly, Chris couldn't help but laugh. He hadn't seen the pitch yet, but from what Miyuki described, it was… unusual.
A slider with that much movement? He'd never even heard of such a thing.
"Show it to me after tomorrow's game," Chris said.
"Of course. I was actually hoping you could help me figure out how to control it."
"I'll do my best," Chris replied mildly. He wasn't the type to say "leave it to me" without seeing it first.
They continued chatting casually until Azuma Kiyokuni returned, drenched in sweat.
"Hahaha! What are you two up to?" Azuma grinned, tossing his bat beside the bed before sitting down on a stool.
"Nothing much, Senior Azuma. You look happy today," Ryou said.
Azuma burst out laughing. "That guy Nanjo just struck me out!"
"Oh?" Ryou exchanged a look with Chris. Struck out and he's happy? Did he hit his head or something?
Suddenly, Ryou thought of something. "Senior, was it Nanjo's cutter?"
"Eh? How'd you know, kid?" Azuma asked, raising an eyebrow.
Just as Ryou suspected. He smiled faintly. "I saw him practicing it earlier. Looks like it's finally game-ready. Even our monster batter got struck out."
"Huh?" Though Azuma had been struck out, he didn't mind much—he'd been struck out plenty of times by Ryou recently. Still, the tone of the kid's voice was way too smug.
"That's only because I didn't know about it beforehand. Otherwise, it's just a cutter—it wouldn't have struck me out," Azuma said, crossing his arms.
Ryou nodded seriously. He wasn't flattering him—Azuma really did have the skill to back that up.
"So, Senior, are you happy because you were struck out?" Ryou asked curiously.
"Hmph, kid, now that Nanjo's gotten stronger, it won't be so easy for you to snatch the Ace number," Azuma said, his tone suddenly serious.
Ryou smiled awkwardly. So that's it. He's happy because the third-years are getting stronger. Their bond really was deep. If Ryou were to take the Ace number now, he'd probably offend half the seniors.
"Senior, you're overthinking it. At least before summer, I have no intention of going after the Ace position," Ryou said lightly.
"Hmph." Azuma wasn't exactly subtle with his emotions. He understood what Ryou meant—not before summer implied during summer, he fully intended to compete for it.
"Um, Senior Azuma, I'm your teammate and dorm junior, y'know? Don't be so hostile," Ryou said with a grin.
Azuma turned away, looking embarrassed. As a third-year sharing the same dorm, he knew it wasn't right to treat his junior coldly like that.
"Fine! If we win tomorrow's game, I'll treat you to a meal!" he suddenly announced.
The room went silent.
Ryou and Chris exchanged looks… then burst out laughing. Chris tried to hold it in, but Ryou threw his head back and laughed heartily.
"What are you laughing at?! Is it that funny?!" Azuma shouted, his face red.
The next day, 8 AM.
After morning practice, Seidou's players gathered in the cafeteria for breakfast. The game was set for noon.
After eating, Kanzaki Ryou headed toward the field and saw Coach Kataoka, Takashima Rei, President Ota, and Chris standing outside the bullpen.
"Rei-chan," Ryou called.
"Ryou? Why are you here too?" Takashima Rei turned around and waved when she saw him.
"I felt like the training earlier wasn't enough, so I came for a run," Ryou said casually, glancing toward the bullpen.
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