Rei reached his class and saw Mizuki and Keiko having their lunch at his place. He sat in his seat and took out his lunch.
"So did you submit your form," asked Keiko, looking at him.
Rei nodded as he continued to eat his lunch. After having their lunch they chatted till the bell rang indicating the break was over. The next teacher came in and started teaching. Rei paid attention some times and looked out of the window when he got bored.
The last period ended and Terada came in, looked at Rei, and said, "Rei come out. I need to ask you something." and went out.
All the students turned towards Rei with a curious expression. Mizuki and Keiko were looking at him with a gaze which meant, 'What happened?'. Rei could only shrug and walk out of the classroom.
He noticed Terada standing by the window in the corridor and asked, "What happened Sensei?" going near him.
"Oh, It's nothing Rei. Today after you left 3 freshmen came to the staff room to apply for the cooking club. So I thought you could go to the club and talk to them when you have time."
Rei was shocked to hear the club gained 3 members on the starting day of a new semester. He nodded and replied, "Ok Sensei, I will go at lunch break tomorrow and have a talk with them." Clubs like the cooking club were a bit special compared to the outdoor ones. They can be accessed even at lunch break.
Terada nodded and went away. Rei returned inside to get his bag and noticed many students already left. He saw Keiko and Mizuki waiting by his dest with their bags on. He went and took his bag.
The three of them made their way out and Mizuki asked, "Why did sensei call you?"
"He wanted me to go to the cooking club when I have time as new members joined and have a chat with them."
"Oh, freshmen joined the club? That is good, now the club doesn't need to be disbanded," said Keiko, surprised.
Rei nodded and they separated after reaching the end of the hallway. Keiko needed to go to the art club whereas Mizuki needed to be in the Karate club. Rei made his way towards the baseball field.
He saw the players doing some jogging and the coach talking with his assistant. The coach was an old man in his 60s. He was well experienced in baseball and was very strict with the player's training.
Rei slowly made his way towards the coach and stood in front of him.
"Excuse me, I am here to join the baseball club."
The coach finally realized Rei and turned towards him. He looked at him up and down seeing Rei's fit built.
"What is your name and which year are you from?"
"My name is Tenjou Rei and I'm from 2nd year."
"What position do you play and how long did you practice for?"
"I play as a catcher and I played when I was small but started to play again 2 months back."
"So you only have 2 months of experience. Well then welcome to the club, My name is Eichi Iwata, you can call me coach and this is the assistant coach Fudo Konda." gesturing towards the man beside him.
He continued, "I will see what level you are at. But for now, go change your clothes and do 10 rounds of running and warm-ups."
Rei nodded and went inside the locker room. He took out his sportswear and quickly wore it. He saw the team has already started doing warm-ups and he started jogging. 10 rounds were easy for Rei who jogged a longer distance daily in the morning. He kept a steady tempo and completed 10 rounds in 20 minutes.
He stood aside and started doing his warm-up stretches seeing the players practicing. He completed his stretching and went near the coach who was looking at the practice while talking to a boy.
He stood beside him and waited until he was done talking. After 5 minutes the coach finally noticed him, "Oh are you done with the warm-ups?" asked Iwata surprised. He noticed Rei was not having a heavy breath or a tired look and only a few drops of sweat.
Rei nodded and Iwata called the assistant coach. He then along with the player he was talking with took Rei to the bullpen which was empty to test him out. The coach talked with his assistant and looked at Rei, "Go wear the practice gear we have. But bring your own from tomorrow if you aren't comfortable. We have lockers to keep them in."
Rei wore the gear he was given and stood near the home plate. The coach nodded and Rei got to the position. Iwata stood beside him with the player and indicated to the assistant coach to throw balls.
The assistant, Konda, slowly winded his arms, got to his pitcher stance, and threw the ball right down the middle at a medium speed. Rei was able to smoothly catch the pitch thrown and returned it back. Seeing his smooth and clean motion, Iwata and the player beside him were shocked.
Konda continued to pitch the balls right down at the middle at various speeds and every single time Rei was able to catch it in the same smooth motion. As Iwata continued to see Rei catch the more he got shocked at his soft hands.
Iwata indicated to throw the pitches a bit tougher and Konda started to pitch them at various places in the zone. For Rei who practiced with Meiko and Izumi the whole summer on the edges and outside the zone, these were easy.
After some more pitches, Iwata felt he had seen enough and stopped Konda. Rei got up and took of his helmet.
"You did good kid. Are you sure you did catching practices only for these 2 months," asked Iwata for confirmation?
Rei nodded and Iwata was shocked along with the player beside him. His eyes shone as if he had seen a diamond. He patted Rei and said, "That is good. There are some small mistakes but you are pretty good for 2 months practice."
"Thank you, Coach."
"And this Akira Ito, the captain of the team. He plays as a shortstop." showing the player beside him.