บท 27: Team Tryouts
Ken woke up the next morning fresh and full of excitement. Today was Monday, and would be his first day back at club activities since requesting a leave of absence to work on training his baseball skills.
He had told the coach to give him a few weeks until he was ready to take the starting spot of the 1st baseman. Of course Coach Yoshida didn't believe that Ken could improve so much in a small amount of time, but he was going to prove him wrong.
The reason for Ken's optimism? It was his Major League System.
After getting ready for his morning run and exercise, Ken pulled up his system window, only to see a flashing message greet him.
[You have consumed: C-grade Agility Elixir.]
[Agility grade has been increased by 4!]
"Whoa! Increased by 4 grades? Lucky~"
PHYSICAL FITNESS: (Avg. C)
Balance and Coordination: C
Agility: B-
Strength: C-
Stamina: C
He wasn't exactly sure how his attributes stacked up against actual professionals, but he should at least be good enough for middle school baseball.
'If professionals were ranked S, then that means my agility is only 9 grades away from the pro's!' Ken thought with a goofy smile.
Of course he wasn't sure if the S grade was the ceiling. There was a possibility that there were higher grades than S, even if that was the highest that he had seen.
Either way, Ken was in a great mood as he skipped down the stairs and headed out the door.
Daichi was once again waiting for him as usual, this time with a smile on his face. His friend had really started to come out of his shell, showing him glimpses of the Daichi he had known in his previous life.
The two went through their morning routine of running and stretching before getting changed and having a hearty breakfast. They then caught the train and headed to school, excitedly chatting about the baseball training in the afternoon.
Classes always seemed to drag on when one was looking forward to something else. But inevitably, the school bell rung, signifying the end of class.
"Let's head to the fields!" Ken said with a big grin, his face oozing with anticipation and excitement.
"Ken, you're on classroom duties." A female voice rang out from the front of the class, causing his expression to darken.
The class representative was holding onto a clip board with the duties schedule sitting upon it.
"Let's make a run for it." Ken whispered to Daichi, before getting into a starting pose.
"You don't want to get in trouble Ken, quickly go and grab the duster so you can clean the blackboard." Daichi murmured, stopping his friend from becoming a felon in the classroom.
"Ah I guess you're right."
As he said those words, he suddenly locked gazes with one of his classmates who had also been called up for classroom duties. He glanced at the blackboard duster before looking back at Ken.
"Don't you dare…" Ken mouthed silently.
However, in the next moment the male student quickly accelerated towards the front of the classroom, his form was flawless.
It was only now that Ken recognized the student as Haru Shinoda, a prominent track and field runner who had competed at nationals many times in his previous life.
Before he knew it, Ken was also flying towards the blackboard duster as if his life depended on it. He felt like the classroom had become a blur as he sped towards the front of the class.
Considering they had started out around the same distance from the blackboard, Haru was filled with confidence. He had yet to meet anyone that could match his sprinting speed over short distances, let alone the lazy Ace pitcher of the baseball team.
As he got closer to the blackboard, he felt that victory was already at hand and began to slow his speed as a result, not wanting to crash into anything and injure himself.
Yet his eyes widened in shock as he saw Ken enter his peripheral vision, his long limbs stretching out towards the prize in front of him.
'W-What!?' Haru was filled with shock as he tried to increase his speed once more, however he had lost too much time while he was assured of his victory.
Ken swooped in like a bird going for a worm, firmly grasping the blackboard duster in his outstretched hand before sliding gracefully to a stop, just before hitting the classroom door.
Haru stared in disbelief as Ken held up the duster towards him, like he was showing the umpire after a catch in the outfield.
"He he he" Ken chuckled to himself as he began to wipe down the board, humming a tune as he basked in his victory.
It wasn't that noticeable on his run this morning, but during this sprint to the front of the class he could feel how much his speed had increased. Once again the usefulness of the system was showcased to him.
Cleaning the blackboard was the quickest chore on the classroom duties list, therefore it was highly contested by those who did not wish to stick around for long. Soon enough, Ken bid farewell to his other classmates.
He sent a little wink to Haru and mouthed "Better luck next time." Before swaggering out of the classroom with a smile.
By the time he arrived at the locker room, most of the players were already dressed and heading out to the field. He saw Daichi within the crowd looking a little anxious, however his face lit up once he saw Ken.
Ken smiled at him before quickly getting his gear on. It had been quite a while since he had put on his baseball uniform which was mostly white with the words Seiko written in red with a black outline.
He was currently wearing the number 1, something that was reserved for the Ace of the squad and something he used to wear with pride. Ken knew that he would have to give up the number, however he wasn't as sad as he thought he would be.
Ken made his way out to the field only to see a few weird looks from his teammates. Coach Yoshida had been pretty tight lipped about Ken's circumstances, therefore the other players were curious.
"You're all here, good." Coach Yoshida addressed the team. His aura was much different than what he had in class, giving people the impression that he had multiple personalities.
"I have an announcement to make before we start today's training…"
He paused before continuing once everyone quieted down.
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