65. Coming Back

Coming back after 2 years was a different feeling for Rei. Now that he has come back he felt like it was yesterday he left this house to go to Kami. He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the sound of Naeumi's car driving into the garage.

He took out his bags from the trunk and went inside the house. Everything was the same even after 2 years. Rei took Izumi up and showed him Sora's room to use for the 2 days. The time was already 3 in the evening and Rei didn't feel sleepy.

He kept his bag down and came out of the room. He heard Shirogana and Izumi while coming down. They were planning to go outside to practice as there was still time left in the evening.

Shirogana tuned towards Rei noticing him coming inside, "Do you also want to come with us Rei?"

Rei nodded and went back up to bring his glove. Shirogana informed Narumi and all three of them went to the nearby park. Taking a nice spot under a big tree on the side of the park, Rei and Izumi got to do their warmups.

After running and exercising, Shirogana started testing out Rei. He first tested Rei's soft hand skills and it really has come a long way from the beginning of the summer. His actions were as smooth as water and were easily above average catchers.

Shirogana nodded and said, "Ok now let's see your blocking." and Rei got into the blocking stance.

Shirogana threw the ball at various speeds and locations to make it tough on Rei. Rei's stance was now perfect and has become muscle memory for him. Out of 10 balls, Shirogana threw Rei was able to block at least 8 of them making Shirogana impressed.

After a couple of balls, Shirogana stopped throwing them and got to the next exercise pitch framing. He went back to Rei to act as the umpire and explained to Izumi what to do. Rei took a deep breath as this was the hardest drill for him.

Reu was never able to do this properly after a couple of balls. He would get more rigid as time went on making even strikes called balls. Shirogana noticed this and gave a slight pat on the back to reassure him.

"There is no need to be tense Rei. If you get it wrong you can practice more."

Rei calmed his nerves down and opened his glove indicating the location for Izumi. He started out easy only at the lower outer corner for a right-handed batter. It was a majority strike and so it was easy to frame.

Izumi's ball came straight towards the glove and Rei framed it very smoothly in one smooth action. Shirogana looked closely to find anything wrong and called it a strike making Rei's confidence boost.

Rei threw the ball back and got to frame the next pitch. This time it was inside low to a bit more outside than the last one. Izumi pitched it back exactly once again into the glove. Rei framed it easily once again and was called a strike.

This time he located it more to the outside making it a definite ball if not done properly. Izumi pitched it once again but this time Rei was a bit more rigid for the umpire to doubt his decision. After some consideration, Shirogana called it a ball.

Rei stood up taking his glove out and said, "This is my limit for now. If I go farther it becomes more rigid."

Shirogana patted his back appreciating him and said, "It's alright. Pitch framing is not that easy. You are better than most people in general. So keep up the practice and it would be so smooth you would think it's natural for your body."

Shirogana checked his watch and noticed they have more time and told, "Ok now continue practicing we have more time."

Both of them nodded and got to more practice. Shirogana correct Rei whenever he noticed mistakes and gave some pointers. The three continued to practice till sunset before going home.

Shirogana bought ice creams for all of them and they continued to go home making some small talks. Rei liked such an environment. It was very peaceful for him to practice hard on his skills.

They reached home and Rei went to his room to take a bath. He washed his body and got into the tub. He closed his eyes and his thoughts drifted towards Tensei. He slowly remembered all the things he has done with him. He remembered all the good and not-so-good moments he shared with him.

Time slowly passed as he remembered all of them and snapped out of it when he heard Izumi knocking the room door. He got out of the bathroom and wore some clothes as quickly as possible. He opened the door and asked, "What is Izumi?"

"What happened you didn't open the door?"

"I was taking a bath. Now tell me what is it?"

"Shirogana-san is calling for dinner. Let's go."

Rei nodded and got out of the room closing the door behind. He chatted with Izumi as they went down and entered the dining room. They sat on the chairs and got to eating. Rei stayed back to help Narumi with the dishes while the other 2 went to sleep.

Shrogana turned towards Rei as he exited, "We will go early in the morning tomorrow. You guys need to get back to Kami before dinner."

Rei nodded and continued to help Naumi. He went back to his room when it was done and laid on his bed going to sleep.

*NEXT DAY*

Rei woke up and noticed the time was already 7 and he got inside the bathroom to get things done. He took a quick bath and got ready. He went down and spotted all three of them ready waiting for him.

They got into a car and Shirogana drove off towards the cemetery. All of them remained quite the whole way not speaking a word. Rei was only focusing on the moment trying to calm his nerves down.

The car came to a halt and Rei noticed the same cemetery entrance he saw 2 years back. He took a deep breath and got out of the car.