Chapter 308: Rest Day
After returning from the place where the seniors used to practice, he took out his phone.
"Moshi moshi! It's Me!"
"Yo! Still awake this late, old man?"
Naturally, the person Sendo was talking to was his mentor, Coach Nakanishi.
"After watching your performance today, who could sleep?!"
"So?"
"So I'm drinking right now!"
"Do you have any idea what time it is? …Alone?"
"How could I be alone? Someone you know… Coach Sakaki!"
"The two of you?"
"That's right! He's staying over tonight! Hahaha! Sakaki-san kept complaining the whole time—'Why didn't you choose Yura Academy?!' [If I could've gotten Sendo, I'd have had the confidence to take Yura Academy to Koshien this year!] That's what he said!"
"...!" Sendo fell silent, visibly displeased.
"You'd have killed me at that pace," Sendo mumbled.
"Hahaha! That's more like you!" Coach Nakanishi roared with laughter.
"Maybe it's fate. Sendo, Seido—only one letter apart in pronunciation. As long as you're happy where you are, I'm satisfied. In your last at-bat today, your concentration must've been unbelievably high, right?
Because of your attention problem since childhood, I've never seen you that serious before. What did it feel like?"
"...!"
"I see. Then that version of you was probably your strongest state. Never thought I'd see the day—seeing the pitcher's grip like that? That's basically cheating."
"Honestly, it just felt really good. But I have no idea how I did it," Sendo emphasized.
"From the way you describe it, I'd say you entered 'the zone.'"
"...!" Sendo froze. Hearing "zone" made him instantly think of The Generation of Miracles from Kuroko's Basketball.
"I first heard about that term in America. Michael Jordan—called the God of Basketball—mentioned it. Kobe Bryant entered that state too. When they did, they were unstoppable. Put simply, when a person's willpower and focus reach an extreme. The human body has a protection system. It won't let us use full power because it'd destroy us—like overtraining injuries. So the body puts on 'locks.' But when concentration is that intense, those locks open to a degree. Even when we think we're using 100% of our strength, we're actually only at about 30%. Though I think that number's exaggerated, I doubt most people ever exceed 70% of their true potential—even when they're in great shape. But in the zone, a person reaches the body's limit. The body acts on pure instinct. Vision, hearing, touch—everything sharpens. Not just the five senses—something like a sixth sense too. But the price is massive mental consumption, and you practically lose awareness of anything outside the game. In reality, people who focus easily—and speaking in baseball terms, more instinctive, animal-like, or simple-minded hitters—enter the zone more easily. When nothing else is on your mind and you devote yourself fully to competing, that's when it happens. If I had to describe it in one word: 'clarity.'"
The implication was obvious—you, the kid with chronic attention issues, probably wouldn't get there easily.
But Sendo had already guessed something like that, so he wasn't upset.
"So basically, airheads enter the zone more easily." He thought of Tetsu and Sawamura—both with empty heads…
"Not just airheads. Like you said, not only do the senses sharpen, but the brain works faster. It's just harder to enter that state."
Coach Nakanishi practically wanted to point at Sendo's face and call him a scheming brat.
"Forget it. What will be, will be. I'm enjoying baseball right now, so I'm satisfied. I can't cling to some state that I don't even know will ever happen again."
"As long as you're fine with it. Do your best at Koshien!"
"Yeah, you too."
"Hm?"
"Drink less." Sendo hung up at lightning speed.
The coach froze for a moment. That black-bellied, tsundere kid just openly expressed concern…?
....
The next day—August 1st, 7:00 AM!
Since Coach Kataoka had given everyone a full day off yesterday, the players were free to arrange their own time.
These restless guys immediately started practicing. After breakfast, many gathered in the indoor cages and other spots.
Their batting performance hadn't been great yesterday, so most were working on hitting.
Don't be fooled by the twelve runs scored—eight were thanks to Sendo, and removing the two free runs from the ninth when Inashiro's bullpen imploded, Seido's lineup only produced two runs. That's not exactly good.
So the seniors were slamming their swings with vengeance.
"Where's Sendo?" Isashiki barked.
"Hmph! He was still asleep when I left! His stamina was low to begin with, and in the last inning he was running purely on mental energy. He must've been wiped out," Miyauchi snorted.
"And that's how it was yesterday. Besides, today's a rest day." Miyuki summarized Sendo's last at-bat story.
"Soka!"
"That's kind of like me yesterday," said Tetsu.
"Hm?"
"That hit yesterday—I didn't think about anything. My body just reacted. Next thing I knew, I was already on second."
Everyone fell silent.
"You two are way too wild! You really are alike," Isashiki complained.
So they ignored Sendo and kept practicing.
Miyauchi kept catching for Tanba, trying to help him restore his fastball.
If not for Seido's high-scoring offense and Tanba's strong mentality, they'd have switched pitchers yesterday. That's why the scoreboard blew up.
Meanwhile Sawamura and Furuya were sent running by Chris after their review meeting. These four pitchers would be relied upon at Koshien.
A deep bullpen was a huge advantage at nationals. Even Narumiya at Inashiro, pitching in a two-man rotation, ran out of stamina late. In his prime, he probably could've dominated the country.
Even fatigued, he didn't lose until the 14th inning—3–2.
Two pitchers vs. four pitchers—no contest. Four meant no fatigue issues.
How much Seido's four could grow over the next week would decide how far they'd go.
.....
"Ahhhh…" Sendo yawned as he walked into the cafeteria.
"Oh! Finally awake, Sendo-kun!" the cafeteria lady teased.
"Morning."
"It's not morning anymore!"
"For me, anything before double digits is morning."
"Then perfect—it's not morning anymore!" She pointed at the clock.
It was 10:10 AM.
"…Then good afternoon."
"Pfft! You're adorable, Sendo-kun."
"Thanks. Any food left? I'm starving."
"Here! Takako-chan saved this for you! Still hot!"
"Takako-senpai?"
"You were the only one who skipped breakfast! Everyone else woke up on time. It's a rest day, but Takako still came because she worries about you baseball boys."
"I see. I'll dig in."
Takako knew everyone's preferences and portions, so Sendo's plate was stacked with meat—perfect quantity.
"What an amazing woman. She'll make a great wife one day," Sendo remarked while staring at his empty plate.
He'd eaten everything without feeling stuffed or still hungry—perfectly portioned.
"I'm full. Thanks for the food."
Then he immediately went back to sleep…
He slept almost all day.
By the time he finally came out again, it was dinner.
"Yo yo yo! Look who finally crawled out of bed," Miyuki was first to react.
"Problems?" Sendo sat beside him.
"Nope. Just surprised you can sleep that much—on a rest day no less."
"I just didn't feel like doing anything."
"Then practice! Go practice!" Miyuki teased.
"I don't feel like moving today."
"You bastard, you're just being lazy!"
"Not exactly."
"Suit yourself. It's a rest day anyway." Miyuki gave up.
Of course, on a training day, Sendo wouldn't dare slack. Kataoka's tolerance didn't mean he wouldn't get chewed out.
"Come to evening practice and help me."
"With what?"
"Eijun's outside pitch won't land in the strike zone anymore. Yesterday must've been just because he was in great form. So he needs reps to rediscover it."
"So how bad is it now?"
"Same as not having it at all."
"...!" If Miyuki weren't genuinely frustrated, Sendo would've roasted him.
"Just give up. That just means his lower body isn't stable yet. Let him keep running. Once it's stable, the pitch will come naturally. So it's fine."
When it came to real baseball matters, Sendo was always serious.
"So I'm planning to abandon the outside pitch and focus on the inside again."
"Huh? Then what was the point of all that…"
"I want you to stand in the batter's box and take a look at Sawamura's inside pitches. From your point of view, what do you think?"
Only then did Sendo realize he'd been played by the bastard sitting next to him.
He turned and—of course—Miyuki was smirking like a thief.
Sendo couldn't think of any immediate counterattack, so he had to admit defeat this round.
Against Miyuki, you could never let your guard down.
Sendo shot Miyuki a long, meaningful stare, then shifted his attention to Sawamura.
"Fine. I'll do it."
"Indoor cage after dinner then!" Miyuki was extremely pleased with his victory.
Smack! Sendo's hand chop struck Miyuki's stomach at a speed the naked eye could barely catch. For a split second Miyuki genuinely thought he was going to die on the spot.
Just because he admitted defeat verbally didn't mean Sendo wouldn't use violence.
Miyuki paid for it.
"Oh? Sounds interesting. I'll go take some swings too," Kuramochi suddenly chimed in as he appeared.
"Of course! But Kura-san—your leg okay?"
"For just standing in the box it's fine!"
"Hm? What're you guys talking about?" The subject of the conversation arrived—with a tail behind him.
"Nothing! And what are you two doing?"
"In the cafeteria, obviously we're eating," Sawamura said with harmless innocence.
Behind him Furuya stared silently at Miyuki.
It was obvious—they were afraid Miyuki would try to escape, and planned to keep close watch.
After all, today was a rest day…
"Baka! If you want to pitch tonight just say it!"
"Huh? You'll catch for me?"
"Of course! But it's our day off, so don't push it!"
"Of course! I'll only throw twenty pitches!" Sawamura announced.
"Then I want twenty-five!"
"Hah?! Furuya! You're picking a fight again? Then I want thirty!"
"You can just ask Chris-senpai to catch for you! I want thirty-five!"
"Chris-senpai said he needs to build chemistry with the main catcher and get proper rest—so he sternly refused! I want forty!"
"Then you should rest too! I want forty-five!"
"I'm not tired at all! I'll throw f—"
"If you don't stop them, you're not sleeping tonight," Sendo warned.
Miyuki immediately shut down the argument and chewed the two out thoroughly.
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