Diamond Ace: Another Story of Sawamura

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As soon as the opening ceremony ended, Qingdao quickly plunged into intensive practice again.

Because Eijun didn't come back the whole night, he was unfortunately trained by the supervisor, Takashima Rei, Chris senior, and Miyuki senior who came to join in the fun.

"Do you know why we were worried all night? Why didn't you answer the phone?"

"Eijun...did you forget that you promised me that you would come back early?"

"Sawamura, Chris-senpai and the director waited for you in your dormitory all night last night! Everyone didn't sleep well because of this!"

As a result, Masuko and Kuramochi sat stiffly in fear all night. In the morning, they went out to wash with panda eyes and a pace that would make Miyuki laugh to death.

"I'm sorry..." Rongchun knew he was in the wrong because he forgot the time and stayed on the stage for a whole night. He sat down in front of the four people and accepted the lecture honestly.

"..." Rongchun's honesty made Takashima Rei feel at a loss. In addition, she had not slept all night, so she now had a headache.

"Sawamura." Kataoka spoke after the other three fell silent, "I never asked you what you were doing because I believed you knew what you were doing."

"..." Rongchun looked at Kataoka who had been silent. He had his arms folded and his imposing figure was exactly the same as in his previous life. He was his respected teacher.

"But you must not do anything wrong, and you must not scare the people who care about you, understand?"

"..." Rong Chun did not respond, but nodded heavily and lowered his head in guilt.

"..." Kataoka's face darkened as he was furious at Eijun's response, but he couldn't utter a word, "Answer me! Are you mute?"

"...I know, I'm sorry!"

"…If you're tired, go and rest." Kataoka sighed helplessly and looked at Chris and Miyuki, "The same goes for the others. Change to free practice."

"Yes!"

"..." Watching the supervisor leave, Rongchun lowered his head again.

He knew that he was destined not to be able to comply with these two not-too-excessive requests.

He gave a perfunctory answer, but what he had to face was the guilt of deceiving them.

"Eijun..." Chris squatted down and touched Rongjun's head, and asked worriedly: "Are you tired? Go back to your room and rest."

"No, I'm not tired." Rongchun shook his head, and when he looked up again, he smiled brightly and pulled Chris excitedly, "Senior Chris, let me tell you something! I went to the circus tent at the Magic Land Theater last night."

Although it was changed to free practice, no one neglected the training and the training continued.

Then, Eijun repeated it during breakfast, inviting everyone to come and show their support.

"The opening time of the theater is set on the day of our first battle. There will be an opening show in the evening. Can everyone go and watch it? I will reserve a seat for everyone."

"I'll have to ask the supervisor for instructions...but with so many people on the team, they'll take up a lot of space!"

Facing Kuramochi-senpai's doubts, Eijun waved his hand and smiled, "The circus tent is bigger than the Jingu Stadium and can accommodate nearly 50,000 spectators. It won't matter if there are only 100 people."

"Fifty thousand people!"

Everyone who was having breakfast almost dropped their jaws in shock. An insider said that the circus tent of Magicland Theater only occupies the center of the theater, and there is a circle of gardens around it.

"Is it okay? I'll go and ask the supervisor for help!" Seeing that no one responded, Rong Chun took it as their agreement.

Ignoring their shocked expressions, I ran out to find Supervisor Kataoka. Of course, I eventually found Mr. Kataoka in the teacher's office.

"Is that okay? We can go directly to the theater after the competition! Please, teacher!"

"..." Kataoka originally wanted to refuse, but Rongjun kept patting his back and massaging his shoulders, which attracted the attention of all the teachers in the office. Kataoka really wanted to beat him to death at this time.

"Go if you want..."

"Really! Thank you, teacher!"

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"There are so many gifts recently. We received three boxes today. The graduating seniors also come to watch the team practice every day."

"We receive so many gifts every year! Many of our graduating seniors also fought in Koshien."

Because so many people are looking forward to them, they are under so much pressure.

Therefore, Rongchun was not sure whether they would really go to the theater. He was the same at the beginning. He didn't want to waste even a minute of training.

"Well, since the supervisor has agreed, it's your choice."

At this time, the batter hit the ball and it flew towards first base. Yuki quickly came to the landing point of the ball, caught the ball, and then passed it to Furuya who was at first base.

"First, catch the ball firmly, then step on the base." Furuya practiced in his mind, and then stepped on the base to complete the replacement.

"You did a great job filling in the gap!"

"The run just now was very successful."

"Well done... Furuya!"

Compared to the frequent mistakes before, he can now complete basic defense, and with the praise he received, Kouya has entered a glow of self-satisfaction.

The next defender, Eijun, threw a perfect third base pass to get the runner out and then quickly returned to defense.

"Very good defense!"

“That’s pretty impressive!”

This level of practice was easy for Rongchun, as these movements had long been deeply engraved in his soul, and he could complete a whole set of movements naturally without any thought.

Then Kawakami, who was on defense, made a mistake on a bunt before the pitcher hit the first at bat, allowing the ball to pass through his glove.

"Kawakami, what are you doing? This is a frontal short hit..."

"How can you be so flustered? You should follow the example of the two first years!"

"I'm sorry, please let me try again!"

“……” Miyuki at home base was also worried when he saw Kawakami like this.

Kawakami's recent defensive movements have been unnaturally stiff. If you think about it, he has hardly ever started in an important game. 'Is it because Tamba's absence has brought him unimaginable pressure?'

Takashima Rei and Director Kataoka saw all of this, but did not say anything special.

"Supervisor, we went to watch the first round of the game. Our first opponent is Mimenxi High School."

After a day of training, everyone gathered in the cafeteria to listen to the information collected by their predecessors about Mimenxi High School.

"The No. 120 left-handed pitcher, Masaaki Kikunaga, pitches over the shoulder with a top speed of nearly kilometers. He has two types of changeups, a curveball and a slider. He is a sophomore who was designated as the starting ace this summer. As a freshman, he played outfield and his ball control was not very good... I think our lineup can completely suppress him."

The seniors who were responsible for collecting information had absolute confidence in their team and provided accurate intelligence.

“Their batting line used the bunt frequently and their fielding made few mistakes.”

“They were able to seize scoring opportunities and hold on to the points until the very end. Overall, they were a team that excelled in defense.”

“The fourth batter will hit fly balls a lot.”

“The left fielder has quite a strong arm.”

Although the game had not started yet, with the investigators' feedback, everyone had a basic understanding of Mimensi High School.

"Well... you've worked hard." Seeing that the investigator had finished his supplement, Kataoka took over the conversation, "The opponent has already won a victory, and their morale must be high. We must not let our guard down!"

“No matter who your opponent is, you must give it your all, and victory will come naturally!”

"Yes!"

"Next, we will announce the starting pitcher for the first game..."

When the three pitchers heard the word "starting pitcher", they all had different expressions.

Kataoka scanned the expressions of the three pitchers one by one. Kawakami was a little nervous about the possibility of starting, and Furuya's desire to pitch was obvious at a glance...

"..." But seeing Eijun who was calm and unperturbed, Kataoka couldn't help but feel his temples throb, "First-year Furuya, you'll start the first match!"

Except for those who were more insightful and could think more deeply, everyone present looked at Fūya in shock, including Fūya himself.

After all, the player after Tamba should be the sophomore Kawakami. How could they let a first-year rookie start in the first game of summer!

At the very least, Rongchun is clearly the better one...

"I understand the importance of the first game, but this summer we have to adopt a rotation of pitchers. Kawakami..." Kataoka stopped Kawakami who was obviously hit, "Warm up as soon as the game starts so that you can play at any time!"

"Huh?" Kawakami was also confused at this time.

"You are the only one left who can be entrusted with this important task. Please!"

"Yes!" Kawakami didn't expect to hear the supervisor trust him so much. He swept away all his bad mentality and cheered up.

The two catchers were also very pleased that Kawakami had grown to be so trusted by the coach. Among them, Miyuki was very happy both as a friend and a teammate.

It is because of the trust in him that Kawakami, who has rich experience in relaying, is placed in the relay position. After understanding his task in advance, he can concentrate on pitching on the field.

And because there is Kawakami as a reliever, there is no need to worry about Furuya running out of energy, and he can give it his all on the mound.

"..."While Chris was happy about this, he unconsciously turned his gaze to Rongchun, who had no reaction to this arrangement.

This child has been looking at his phone all day today. He even puts it openly on the table. Although the screen is not on, his eyes are glued to the phone. Is he waiting for some message?

"Chris will be the starting catcher, and the other positions remain unchanged."

"..." Rongjun looked up suddenly. If he heard correctly, the catcher who came on the field was Chris-senpai.

"Players who are not in the starting lineup should also pay attention to unexpected situations and be ready to provide support at any time. In addition, if anyone's performance is unsatisfactory, I will replace him at any time."

"Coach! I will also be ready to go on stage at any time!" After the coach finished speaking, Rongjun immediately took over.

"..." When Kataoka heard this, he felt his temples dancing.

"This kid! He immediately got excited when he heard that Chris was going to play!"

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