Chapter 312: Coach Kataoka's Reversal
"Let's settle it in a match!"
Just as Sendo was wondering if he'd been manipulated by that black-bellied glasses bastard, Tetsu lifted a bat and dropped a bomb that stunned Sendo.
"Eh? Wait—don't tell me you're planning to hit his pitches here?" Sendo wasn't the only one frozen; Isashiki rushed to ask.
"Is that not allowed?"
"Of course it's not! This is the indoor cage! Do you want to bring the ceiling down?!"
"Then… tomorrow!"
"Haha, things just got interesting," Miyuki laughed inwardly.
He didn't dare stir up Sendo right now.
And from Miyuki's perspective, Sendo wouldn't have an easy time answering anyway.
Sendo put a hand on his chin and paced as if deep in thought.
Everyone inside and outside the room waited for his answer—so no one noticed Sendo quietly edging toward the door.
"Time's a bit tight," he said once he neared the door, drawing everyone's attention even more.
Classic move — attention under the lamp.
Suddenly, Sendo lunged and stuck his head outside the door.
"Eh?"
A whole group outside exploded in panic.
"So I was right," Sendo said as he looked at them.
His voice was calm, but there was despair behind it.
Onii-san, Tanba, Chris-senpai, the double aces, Masuko-senpai, Coach Kataoka, and Rei-chan.
A whole line of people stared back at him.
"Why are all of you here? And you too, sunglasses old man? Even Rei-chan?"
"Because Sawamura saw you two leave with gloves, then those guys happened to be in the bath, then Coach and I saw them… so…" Rei-chan explained everything in one breath.
Sendo shot a vicious glare at Sawamura, who still didn't understand what he'd done.
Since they were caught, the group simply walked inside like nothing awkward had happened at all—
which made Sendo scream internally at their indifference.
"Hurry up and decide, Sendo!" Isashiki shouted. He clearly wanted a piece of it too.
"No way! The 7th is the Koshien opening ceremony! We might even have a game that day! We're supposed to be adjusting and recovering! After top eight it's all consecutive matches—one per day—death matches! I need to save stamina! Yesterday nearly killed me! I'm still sore all over!" Sendo's mixture of truth and lies immediately cooled most of the seniors.
Anyone could see his stamina was trash. Yesterday he got through the end of the game purely on willpower.
"Starting tomorrow, you only join batting-related practice. All other training is cancelled. Only the seven regular fielders (not counting pitchers) will get three at-bats each, then rest. Just pitch full power and don't intentionally hit them. Acceptable?"
At that moment, Coach Kataoka spoke.
"Eh?"
The situation flipped instantly.
Now it was Sendo's turn to freeze.
"Pfft," Rei-chan giggled at Sendo's expression.
Everyone understood instantly—everything earlier had been excuses.
His 'too bad we can't do it' act had been pure performance.
Which only made them more interested.
They'd all seen Sendo's pitching just now.
If they could face it for real, adapting to even top-level fastball pitchers would be easy.
Sendo grimaced, calculating the pros and cons.
"Seven guys means twenty-one at-bats. That's over a hundred pitches. Sunglass— I mean, Coach— wouldn't that be even more tiring? Pitching kills the arm. Two at-bats each."
He negotiated.
He also relied on the common misconception that twenty-one at-bats meant at least a hundred pitches—usually even more.
And besides, there was a huge difference between watching from the side and standing in the box. A 160 km/h fastball barely looked fast from the side. Inside the box it was a different universe.
"Eh?! With Chris-senpai?"
Sawamura was lost.
Tanba also looked tempted—who didn't want to form a battery with Chris?
Even with injuries, take away the running and game demands, Chris was a monster catcher.
Catching required brains.
Chris's pitch calling, reading of hitters, and psychological precision were flawless.
Not to mention he knew all the batters here inside and out.
"And one more thing, Sendo. After pitching, go to batting practice. Focus on batting while fatigued—your specialty in close-out moments. Understood?"
"Yes…" Sendo's voice was weak—completely maneuvered into checkmate by the coach.
"Alright, do you all know what time it is? Go back.
You two—shower and sleep!"
The last line was clearly aimed at the two troublemakers.
"Yes…"
The two looked at each other and sighed in defeat.
"Ahahahaha!"
The others looked like they'd won some grand victory.
Sendo recovered quickly.
All in all, he gained the most from this.
The only loser was Miyuki—though Miyuki was the only one who believed that.
"By the way, Tetsu, why are you still holding a bat? Your extra swings should've been done ages ago," Sendo asked.
"Don't tell me you got interrupted again?"
Before Tetsu could answer, Sendo continued:
"Jun-san, how many swings did Tetsu do tonight?"
"At least twelve hundred. Once he sets his mind on it, you can't stop him. And when he forgets the count, he always restarts from one," Isashiki sighed at the memory.
"So what interrupted him today?"
"Chatting once, Tanba derailed him once (again), and Maezono asked him a question once."
"…"
Everyone looked at the cluelessly innocent Tetsu and fell silent.
"Sigh… how long are you going to be depressed? Let's go," Sendo said to the still-dying-inside Miyuki.
Miyuki, by instinct, followed.
"Pfft," Rei-chan giggled again.
"Is it really okay for him to skip fielding practice?" she asked Coach Kataoka.
"Yes. His spatial awareness doesn't rely on experience. He can read landing spots naturally, and with his speed, outfield practice is optional. It's better training for the others, and it lets Sendo get a feel for pitching. This summer, if needed, I'll consider having him take the mound—even if fatigue from batting and defense means he can only throw a few innings."
"I see. A pitcher of that level would be wasted otherwise. And our pitching staff does have a weakness right now—no one who can end a game decisively."
Everyone present understood the coach's intention.
If the double aces were still second-years, Coach Kataoka probably wouldn't have done this. He would have given the players more freedom.
But now, he wanted to win.
Not just Coach Kataoka—everyone did.
Since they had entered Koshien, they wanted to go even further this year.
After hearing the coach's words, the two pitchers and Tanba all felt a sense of crisis.
Another person had appeared—someone who might take the mound away from them.
Even if that guy would probably be extremely unwilling…
"Speaking of which—Sawamura!" Kuramochi suddenly asked.
"Eh?"
"Sendo said earlier he was your backup pitcher in middle school. Is that true? No matter how I look at it, it should've been the other way around, right? And with that kind of control, if he wanted to save stamina, he completely could've done what he did when he mimicked Yang and pitched to us in batting practice—just shut batters down with nine-square control. With command that good, the catcher doesn't even have to worry about passed balls."
Kuramochi's stare made Sawamura flustered.
"Eh? N-no no no! In middle school, that guy never pitched in an official game! I was the ace!" Sawamura panicked.
Everyone else felt that if Sendo had been the "backup," that was almost too grand of a lineup.
"That's why it's weird. Does he really hate pitching that much?"
"He doesn't even want to go on the mound!"
Sawamura said with a proud face, as if bragging.
"…Forget it. Ignore this idiot," Kuramochi sighed as the group dispersed.
….
"Hey. Snap out of it. Is it really that bad?"
In the bath, Sendo spoke to the still depressed Miyuki.
"When I couldn't catch your pitches, I really wanted to. But now that I have…"
"And?"
"I feel like I can't go back! Catching your pitches is addictive!"
"So gross. You look like a guy who just tasted hard drugs, you know?"
"I can't help it! Now I understand why Harada-senpai said he'd come to Seido even for just a year if it meant forming a battery with you."
"Don't be so dramatic. Furuya and Sawamura—once those two really grow, they'll become pitchers that make people excited too. Especially Sawamura—on that I guarantee you. What, you think I followed him to Seido purely out of compensation? That guy is a real genius. In pitching, he might even be more—well, you'll see."
"Really?" Miyuki looked at Sendo with genuine hope.
"By the way."
"Hm?"
"When are you going to drop the act, bastard? You're not that type. Black-bellied glasses."
Sendo pinched Miyuki's cheeks.
"Let go! …Fine, fine, I dropped the act. I really was acting depressed, but the disappointment was real!
This might be the only chance I ever get to form a battery with you!"
"That's true. But cheer up—tomorrow will be better."
"You heartless bastard!
Normal people would comfort me and say something like, 'Don't worry, I'll find time to throw to you again,' you know?!"
"Honestly, you really are the same rotten personality as always. If someone who didn't know you heard that, they'd absolutely fall for it."
"Ah… such a pity." Miyuki sighed dramatically.
Sendo immediately had the urge to punch him.
Neither of them was the type to stay depressed for long.
After chatting a bit, they went back to the dorm.
If he couldn't catch, then seeing from the batter's box would still be good.
Chris-senpai was the catcher he respected the most—Miyuki was curious how Chris and Sendo would suppress their own lineup.
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