Amidst the intense training camp schedule, Kominato Haruichi’s movements grew increasingly stiff during fielding practice.
The accumulated fatigue was clearly catching up to him, and at times he looked like he might collapse.
His older brother, Kominato Ryosuke, a third-year, noticed this.
Squinting slightly, he walked over and smiled faintly.
“If you want to rest, then go ahead and rest.
There are plenty of people waiting to take your place.”
“I can still keep going.” Haruichi forced himself upright.
He had sworn to catch up to his brother—there was no way he could stop here.
As the days of training camp passed, the strain on the team gradually became apparent.
In Coach Kataoka’s office, Miyuki, Miyauchi, and Chris—the team’s catchers—stood together awaiting instructions.
“The two first-year pitchers are nearing their limit,” Miyuki said first.
“Hm.
Tanba and Kawakami are about the same, right?” the coach asked, turning to Chris.
Chris nodded.
“Yes.
Because their training volume is high, they’re all approaching their limits.”
The coach then turned to Miyauchi.
“How has Tanba been these past few days?”
“He’s in good condition.”
“Good.” Coach Kataoka nodded.
“On the final weekend of the training camp, there will be three practice games.
Furuya and Sawamura will pitch on Saturday.
On Sunday’s doubleheader, Tanba and Kawakami will each pitch complete games.”
“Yes, sir!” everyone responded in unison.
As the meeting ended and everyone began to leave, Miyuki called out to Miyauchi.
“Has Tanba-senpai been working on a new breaking ball lately?”
“Hmph.
That’s none of your business.” Miyauchi brushed him off and walked away.
Miyuki watched him go and let out a small sigh.
Tanba-senpai is too obsessed with breaking balls… but a fastball is what makes breaking pitches truly effective.
That night, Miyuki couldn’t shake his unease.
He went to find Tanba alone and tried to advise him.
“Senpai, you shouldn’t focus so much on breaking balls.
The fastball is the foundation of a pitcher.”
But Tanba’s stubbornness surfaced immediately.
“That’s your opinion.
I only trust my own pitching.”
Without another word, he turned and walked away.
Pitchers really are troublesome.
On the final day of training camp, after all sessions were completed, the team gathered in Miyuki’s room.
The moment Sawamura opened the door, he was greeted by Jun-senpai’s loud voice.
“First-years, get in here and massage my legs!”
A black line appeared on Sawamura’s face as he looked at the intimidating upperclassman.
Who would’ve thought this guy liked shojo manga… though I like it too.
Nearby, Kuramochi was already playing video games, not even turning around.
“Hey, Sawamura.
Go buy drinks.”
The seniors nearby immediately added their own orders as well.
Before Sawamura could retort, Furuya silently pulled out a small notebook and began writing down everyone’s drink requests.
“Sawamura, Furuya—who here knows how to play shogi?”
Miyuki’s voice cut through the chaos.
He had reached his limit playing against Yuki-senpai, who was terrible at the game but endlessly persistent.
Even after losing, he would demand another match—and if he won, he’d claim he hadn’t been serious.
Seeing the two first-years arrive, Miyuki immediately tried to use them as a shield.
“I know a little,” Sawamura said instinctively—then immediately realized it was a mistake.
He looked up and saw Yuki-senpai’s energized expression and felt a chill run down his spine.
He had just jumped from one fire pit into another.
Tonight… sleep was not going to come early.
Fortunately, Kuramochi eventually helped him escape the situation—but Sawamura quickly realized he probably shouldn’t have gotten involved at all.
Because Kuramochi had somehow obtained his phone, unlocked it without effort, and announced to everyone that Sawamura had a childhood friend back home named Wakana.
Upon hearing the news, the seniors immediately erupted.
They had sacrificed their youth for baseball, training day after day with almost no time for anything else.
And yet this first-year actually had a girlfriend—and even a childhood sweetheart at that.
It was unforgivable.
Sawamura shouted as he tried to retrieve his phone, but Kuramochi easily locked him in a hold.
His phone was passed around among the seniors like a trophy.
Yuki-senpai even started taking photos of the chat logs between Sawamura and Wakana.
By the time they finally calmed down, it was already around midnight, and everyone slowly began dispersing.
The next day, practice resumed on the open field.
The pitchers were finally allowed into the bullpen for proper throwing sessions.
Miyauchi-senpai volunteered to catch for both Furuya and Sawamura, while Chris observed from the side.
Furuya went first.
Because of fatigue from the training camp, his pitches lacked their usual “rising” movement and went straight into the glove.
Even without movement, his fastball wasn’t something just anyone could catch.
Chris noticed his reaction and said calmly, “Miyauchi has trained with a 150 km/h pitching machine.
This level is within his range.”
“Next, Sawamura.”
Sawamura stood on the mound and fired his pitch toward Miyauchi’s glove.
This time, Miyauchi was caught off guard—he didn’t catch it cleanly at all.
From the side, Miyuki smiled faintly.
This guy’s pitch isn’t that easy to handle.
Miyauchi stared at Sawamura, still replaying the moment in his mind.
The ball had seemed to suddenly appear out of nowhere.
He couldn’t read its trajectory at all, and it even carried slight movement as it reached the plate.
After watching both pitchers, Chris gave instructions:
“Today, you’ll continue bullpen practice.
Tomorrow is Saturday—the game day.”
The two first-years stayed in the bullpen until the sky turned dark.
Outside, the seniors continued fielding practice under the coach’s relentless hitting drills.
The first-years watching from the side were stunned.
They had already been training all day—and it was this late, yet the seniors were still going?
Steam rose constantly from their bodies.
It was clear they had already reached their physical limits.
But the coach showed no mercy.
“Where did your voices go?
Is this all you’ve got?”
Hearing this, the seniors—led by Yuki—forced themselves back up and demanded another round.
No one knew how long that madness continued.
By the time Sawamura finally returned to the dorm and collapsed into bed, Kuramochi, Masuko, and the others still hadn’t come back.
Training at this intensity had finally ended for the day.
At breakfast, everyone sat in silence, staring at their food as if their spirits had already left their bodies somewhere else.
That night, in the coach’s office, Kataoka asked the two catchers how they planned to handle tomorrow’s game with both pitchers exhausted.
Miyauchi said he intended to rely on Furuya’s fastball power to overwhelm hitters, and for Sawamura, focus on low pitches to induce weak contact and rely on defense.
Miyuki, however, offered a different view.
“Both of them are exhausted.
Tomorrow, Furuya will likely learn how important control really is through experience.”
“As for Sawamura… his moving fastball is vulnerable against metal bats.
Tomorrow, I want to see how he handles a natural counter.”
After listening to both opinions, the coach made his decision.
“Miyuki, you will be the starting catcher for tomorrow’s game.”