Bab 24: Monster

Coach Yamada called all the players to start practice, and as usual, the team began with a light jog to warm up. Unfortunately for Shun, he couldn't afford a light jog, he still had 20 km to run, so he decided to give it his all until practice officially started. He picked up the pace, thinking no one on the team would keep up with him.

"Aaahhhhhhhhhhhh!" - To Shun's surprise, he heard Ren shouting and also increasing his pace. The boy with the samurai bun was excited about being a starter for the next game and didn't want to fall behind.

"You guys are idiots, this is just the warm-up. How are you going to survive the rest of practice if you use up all your energy here?" - Kenta also sped up. Even though he thought the other two were overdoing it, he couldn't let himself fall behind.

The three friends maintained a fast pace, and because of this, the rest of the team, who had been doing a light jog, also unconsciously picked up the pace. No one wanted to get lapped, so the group started to break apart as some chased after the trio. The main chasers were the captain, Kazuki Yamamoto, and the first-year pitcher, Jiro Fukuoka, the boy who idolized Shun for some reason.

Coach Yamada allowed a smile to escape as he watched his players' actions. After 30 minutes, he blew the whistle to signal that the "warm-up" run was over. In the end, the only player who didn't get lapped by the three friends was Captain Kazuki. Young Jiro couldn't keep up with the pace at the end and was overtaken, but he did very well for a first-year student. As for the rest of the team, many players were lapped multiple times, some chose not to exhaust themselves and maintained a light pace, while others tried to keep up with Shun but collapsed.

As for Shun, he was lying on the ground, breathing heavily. He had run 6 km in 30 minutes, a pace he had never run before. He probably hadn't planned on it, but once his two friends started chasing him and even increased their pace, he couldn't let himself fall behind, his pride wouldn't allow it.

Well, Kenta and Ren weren't much different. Ren was sprawled on the ground, and it was hard to tell whether he was breathing heavily or crying, maybe both. Kenta, on the other hand, was a bit better off, even though he was exhausted, he only sat on the ground instead of lying down, but his rapid breathing was proof that he was just as worn out.

"Hahaha, didn't you three push yourselves too hard? I wonder if you'll be able to finish practice like this?" - Captain Kazuki said with a smile as he approached them. Unlike the three, he seemed completely fine, even his breathing was calm, as if he had just returned from a walk on the beach.

"Monster." - The three friends said in unison, staring in amazement at their captain, who had run at the same pace as them but was perfectly fine.

"Very good. Let's start the defense practice now, everyone to your positions!" - Coach Yamada announced as all the players ran to their spots.

Well, there were three players who were almost crawling to their positions instead of running.

Shun arrived in right field, exhausted, only to hear his senpai speak sarcastically.

"Hmph! Trying to show off for the coach. Now, I'd like to see how you'll handle the entire practice in this condition." - Right fielder Junpei commented. He had been feeling threatened by Shun over the past few days, but since all Shun did was train hard, there wasn't much he could say. So he couldn't resist taking this opportunity to try to put Shun down.

Of course, at that moment, Shun didn't care about his senpai's words. On another day, he might have thrown in a little provocation, but today all he wanted was to maximize his rest time so he could complete everything.

"Tch!" - Junpei didn't like being ignored by Shun. He decided to take advantage of the fact that the boy was tired to outshine him in today's practice.

DONG

"I'm going to outplay you right in front of the coach!" - Junpei thought to himself as he heard the sound of the ball being hit toward right field. He noticed that the ball was heading parallel to the foul line and seemed like it was going far. He ran as fast as he could but realized it was going to hit the wall. It was too risky to dive now, if he missed and the ball went far, the runner would easily reach third base. He decided to let the ball hit the wall, then picked it up right after and made a perfect throw to second base.

"Nice play, Junpei!" - Junpei heard his teammates shouting and praising him. It was indeed a great play, probably one of the best he had made in his life. If this had happened in a game, the runner would have been out if they had tried to advance to second base.

"Hmph! Take that, you brat!" - Junpei thought to himself as he looked arrogantly at Shun, who was staring at the ground with his hands on his knees, still breathing heavily. Of course, to Junpei, that was the boy's expression of defeat. Little did he know that Shun hadn't even seen his play, at that moment, all the young player could think about was recovering some energy.

DONG

Shun then heard the sound of the ball being hit. He saw that it was heading toward the outfield and knew it was his turn. An imaginary path appeared on the field, and all Shun did was run in the direction the path indicated. The ball had been hit parallel to the foul line, in a trajectory similar to Junpei's earlier play. Shun realized the ball was going to hit the wall, but analyzing its trajectory, he noticed it wouldn't be that high. Thanks to the speed boost from his Chase skill, he would get there in time if he dove for it. And that's what he did, the boy jumped at a strange angle as he positioned himself between the ball's trajectory and the wall, raising his arm as high as he could, waiting for the ball to land in his glove.

PAH

Shun stood up and showed the ball in his glove, only to hear several cheers and applause from his teammates.

"Damn! Nice catch, Shun!"

"Holy crap! That catch was insane!"

"Nice play, you bastard!"

Shun heard his teammates' comments as he walked back to the end of the line. The boy couldn't help but think:

"These two skills are amazing when combined."

[Chase (A+)

Gives the user a speed boost while showing the fastest route to the ball.]

[Dive (C+)

Allows the user to dive toward balls out of their reach and catch them.]

Meanwhile, Junpei was clenching his fists, staring enviously at Shun, who was returning to the line, exhausted after making that absurd play. He grumbled in his mind:

"What kind of monster is this kid?"