87. Game Thoughts

Iwata observed everyone around him, ready to go home and said, "Good, after today's match I got a good evaluation of everyone's strengths and weaknesses. The present team is nowhere near enough to even get to the regionals finals in the senbatsu in spring."

The players could only clutch their hands at the harsh truth. They saw today that they were still very far away from it.

"But, this is why we need to practice harder. We only have 4 months left till senbatsu. We need to keep extra practice so that we would do better than the summer tournament."

All of them nodded, as their will power once again ignited. Rei could feel his passion increase further hearing the coach and vowed to get better. He understood he had to practice with the other pitchers more in this game and planned to ask the coach about this.

"Ok now go back home before it gets late. We can continue about this tomorrow." and walked away with Konda.

Everyone dispersed, and Rei made his way towards the main gate. He saw no one there and took out his phone. He noticed there was some time left before the club activities would be done for the day and decided to wait for them.

He started to think about today's match. He observed how the overall strength of the team is below average. The major problem the team was facing was both batting and fielding. He felt the team's batting was very low and needed much more improvement.

Except for a few people like Akhira, Daichi, Shiro, and some others, the rest were very bad at batting. He also thought about increasing his batting accuracy. He knew it was well enough for his present level, but the condition of the team was more severe than he calculated before.

The next thing the team was lacking is their fielding. He noticed how many people seem to lack and need much more training in it. He noticed how some people dropped catches or could not throw the ball properly to the fielders in time.

Mistakes like these could be game-changers in a proper match and would be problematic if they occur. He knew that these problems can't be solved instantaneously and needed much effort and time.

He also thought about the remaining 2 pitchers he was able to experience in the match. He caught for Shindou, so he was able to gauge his weakness and strength throughout the entire match.

Shindou's main problems were his lack of speed and stamina. These 2 were some serious problems to have. Stamina could be increased as he practiced more and more, but speed was something that could not increase quickly. Shindou could only increase it step by step for the long-term.

Rei also thought that Shindou's unique pitching style would be a bit of a bonus for him. Then came the other pitcher Rei played against. Rei thought this one was better than Shindou in speed and control. Rei thought this pitcher could be a relief pitcher for the team when Suzaku doesn't do well in any game.

Rei was completely fixated on asking Iwata tomorrow. He wanted to know more about them and knew he would have more chances to become the main catcher of the team compared to the first year he saw today.

"OH REI! YOU ARE HERE EARLIER THAN US TODAY." came a voice snapping out Rei from his thoughts.

He looked at the direction and saw several students coming out. He could easily identify the owner as he saw Keiko waving her hands in the air next to Mizuki. He could only smile and wave back.

"What happened? You came earlier than us today," asked Mizuki as they came near.

"Today's surprise was a match, and it ended quickly. So coach let us off," explained Rei.

"Oh, it was a match. Did you wait for long?" asked Keiko as the three of them made their way out.

"No, I wasn't waiting for long."

"So how was the match?" asked Mizuki, making Keiko also look at him.

"It was pretty interesting. The coach held an inter-squad match, dividing the members into 2 different teams. I had to catch for a new pitcher who was a first-year. The match started off with our batting and progressed on. In the end, we lost by a run."

"Oh, How was this new pitcher?" asked Keiko.

"He was fine for a first-year but has many problems to solve too. Compared to Suzaku who is in his third year, he is a bit lacking. But he could improve into a wonderful pitcher."

"Oh! So you had an excellent time for the first match you played," asked Mizuki.

"Yes, it was very fun. I learned many things throughout the match and noticed my weak spots. I also had the chance to gauge every player's strength, thus the entire team's."

The three of them continued to talk about other things and separated at the juncture. Rei slowly made his way home, thinking about the match once again. He reached home and went inside.

He slowly made his way towards his room and then went to the bathroom for a quick shower. Coming out of the warm, refreshing bath after a long hour of practice, Rei felt relaxed. He then made his way into the hall and noticed Sora watching some baseball.

Rei sat beside him and continued to watch the game with Sora.

"How was your practice today?" asked Sora.

"We had an inter-squad match. It was fun."

"Oh! You finally played in a match. Did you notice anything different?"

"Yes, even though some players in a team are good, if the entire team isn't up to par with them, the team would lose."

Sora only nodded at Rei's statement and continued to watch baseball. Both of them only stopped the television as they heard Narumi calling for them. They made their way to the dining room and sat down for dinner.

Rei peacefully had dinner with them as he enjoyed a peaceful time. He stayed back as he helped Narumi, washing the dishes.

"You seem very happy today, Rei."

"I played my first match today, Oba-san."

"Oh! That's great. How did it go?"

"It was great. I had a lot of fun and learned new things. We lost at the end tho,"

"It's ok to lose Rei. What is more important is that you have fun while you play?"

Rei nodded, understanding what she meant and returned to his room after he was done helping her. He sat down as he still needed to do his homework. He quickly completed his homework and took out a dumbbell from his shelf and started exercising.

He then heard his phone ring and noticed it was Shirogana.

"Oji-san, How are you?" asked Rei as he picked the call.

"Oh! I am fine, Rei. I called to see how you're doing."

"I am good, Oji-san."

"How is your practice going on?"

"I am getting better at it, Oji-san. We played a match today, it was an inter-squad match."

"Oh! That is good, Rei. How was the match?"

"It was fun, Oji-san."

"Good, have fun and you should also learn from the mistakes you make in a match. You can only get better when you correct them and never repeat them again."

Rei continued to talk over the phone as he did his workout. He was open to Shirogana and talked about everything with him. After an hour or so, Rei cut the call and kept the dumbbell down.

He turned the lights off and slowly drifted off to sleep.

*NEXT DAY*

Rei was on his way to school with a very sleepy Sora. Rei never understood how Sora could sleep so long. He knew Sora was rather lazy in general, but strict when it came to baseball. Rei sometimes considered it to be an alternate personality too.

After reaching, both of them separated themselves and Rei made his way to class. He sat on his seat and saw Mizuki with Keiko learning for a test that was going to happen. Rei could only shake his head at Mizuki's attitude towards studies.

The class started, and the teacher handed out the question papers. The students stood up and changed their seats according to their roll numbers. Rei did not have to change paces and saw to his side, a goofy Mizuki looking at him with pleading eyes.

Rei could only sigh and start his exam when the teacher asked them to. He noticed all the questions were easy and peeked to his side and saw Mizuki rubbing her forehead, trying to solve them.

Rei quickly got to work and solved the whole paper within 2 hours with an extra hour left. He looked at Mizuki and tapped her dress, gaining her attention. He slowly showed her the answers she needed while looking out for the teacher.

After Mizuki was done he handed the paper to the instructor before making his way out of the class for his lunch break.