Diamond No Ace: The Strongest Hitter

Chapter 175: I Want to Read Manga

The seven starting players hold secure spots on the team, and the rest are theoretically open for competition—let alone the Second String.

These upperclassmen train tirelessly, so why would they willingly give up their positions?

Don't assume they're so self-aware either. Even when Tanba lost his ace status, second-years were already eager to take his place.

At least, this recent commotion was completely quelled by a single sentence from Tanba.

After dinner, there was no scheduled training; most opted for self-practice.

Full team training into the night is only for training camps. If they kept this up every day, they'd end up in the hospital before the games even began.

As for Sendo, his idea of "self-practice" involved holing up in his dorm to read manga, watch anime, and dive into novels.

He had even gotten his hands on an interesting shoujo manga from Jun and was planning to study it thoroughly.

At least, that was the plan…

Sendo held this belief until he left the cafeteria, only to see Coach Kataoka standing sternly at the entrance, his eyes fixed on the doorway.

Initially, Sendo thought the coach was waiting to discuss tactics with one of the senior players. Catchers often participated in such discussions, after all.

Shaking his head, Sendo decided to head back to his dorm.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"…Huh?"

Sendo paused mid-step, realizing he might be the only one near the door.

"Me?" He pointed to himself with his left hand.

"Yes! You're coming with me to run. I'll watch you do it!"

"…"

"Uh, Coach… isn't there no training scheduled for tonight?" Sendo desperately tried to salvage the situation, even dropping the usual "Sunglasses Uncle" nickname.

"That's correct," Coach Kataoka admitted with a slight twitch of his eyebrow.

"Then—"

"But," the coach interrupted, "you need to make up for the laziness I noticed during the day."

Coach Kataoka wasn't about to admit he'd previously turned a blind eye to Sendo's slacking.

Instead, he framed it as a necessary penalty to maintain discipline without discouraging Sendo's occasional laxness.

As a coach, he had plenty of ways to deal with this troublemaker.

"Fine!" Sendo reluctantly nodded, clearly disheartened.

"Oh, shoujo manga… I'll come back to you later!" he consoled himself internally.

True to his word, Coach Kataoka stayed on the sidelines, watching as Sendo ran laps. Occasionally, he'd shout for Sendo to sprint.

Night had fully fallen by the time the coach finally called it off.

Sendo felt like he'd lost half his life.

"Huff… huff… huff…"

"What's wrong? Is that all you've got from such light exercise?" Coach Kataoka taunted, though he carefully calculated the workload to avoid injury.

Afterward, the coach even helped Sendo cool down.

"That's enough. Come with me to the bath," he said casually.

"???"

Sendo stared, dumbfounded.

"First you wear me out, and now you want me to endure your scary face while bathing?" he thought but wisely kept his complaint to himself.

By the time they reached the bathhouse, the other players—who had been lingering to relax—quickly fled at the sight of Coach Kataoka.

The coach was well aware of his intimidating presence, which is why he usually bathed late.

Sendo had noticed this before during his late-night chats with Pudding-senpai.

The bathhouse wasn't actually scary; it was just weird seeing the coach in sunglasses even here.

Sendo seemed to be the only one who thought so, though.

With the bathhouse essentially reserved, Sendo didn't mind the privacy.

Inside, Coach Kataoka sat upright and serious, while Sendo lounged lazily by the pool.

"Sendo!" the coach suddenly called out.

"Hm? What is it, Sunglasses Uncle?"

"Do you like baseball?"

The coach had grown used to the nickname, though he'd lose his temper if anyone else used it.

"Hmm… I wouldn't say I like or dislike it. It's just… okay?" Sendo thought for a moment before answering.

"I see. Then, do you enjoy playing? Or participating in games?"

"Hmm…" Sendo stared at the ceiling.

"I guess it's fun. The feeling in my hands when the bat hits the ball—it's amazing."

"Ha!" Coach Kataoka smiled faintly. "The farther you hit, the better the sensation. That's why you're so obsessed with long hits, isn't it?"

Sendo turned his head slightly, catching a glimpse of the coach's rare smile.

"Hey, Sunglasses Uncle!"

"What?"

"You're not very good at teaching technical skills, are you?" Sendo boldly asked.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well… you know, like teaching techniques tailored to each person's strengths. Like what trainers do," Sendo explained clumsily.

Coach Kataoka remained silent, seemingly deep in thought.

Seriously? Give me a break! I'm just a first-year. Why am I always the last to know everything?

"That sunglasses-wearing jerk must have forgotten about me!" Sendo muttered to himself, only to have his thoughts interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Hey!"

Hearing Sawamura's voice outside, Sendo glanced at Coach Kataoka with a slightly odd expression.

The coach's previously deep contemplation was now replaced with an indescribable look.

"That sunglasses uncle... why does he always wear sunglasses? Is he in the yakuza or something?"

Bang!

The bathhouse door slid open, and Sendo could see one of Sawamura's feet stepping in.

"Are you trying to scare the other team's players to death with your face or what?"

Sawamura's voice trailed off as he turned right and froze mid-sentence.

There, he saw Sendo laughing quietly with his hand over his mouth, and Coach Kataoka sitting with a towel on his head, looking as stern as ever.

"Yaaaaaaaah!"

What followed was a scream fit for a girl.

"Pfft, pfft!" Sendo couldn't hold back his laughter anymore.

Coach Kataoka shot him a sideways glance before resuming his usual serious expression, as if the person who had been smiling moments ago wasn't him at all.

"W-why is the sunglasses uncle here at this hour? Everyone else already finished bathing… I was the last one here… He heard me. He definitely heard me! Someone, just kill me already!" Sawamura, leaning against the wall, slid down in utter despair.

Lost in his own thoughts, he didn't even register that Sendo was sitting right next to the coach.

"S-sorry!" After quickly washing his hair and body, Sawamura slipped into the bath, hiding in a corner and quietly crying to himself.

The bathhouse fell into awkward silence.

Sawamura sulked in his corner, regretting every word he had said about Coach Kataoka's sunglasses.

The relaxing bath no longer felt so relaxing.

"Hey!" Coach Kataoka's sudden call made Sawamura jump.

"How many days have you been running with those tires?"

"Th-three weeks, I think?"

Sendo, well-acquainted with Sawamura's personality, could imagine what was going through his head.

"Oh, I'm planning to add a fourth tire soon. My progress is terrifying, hahaha!"

"Yeah, sure. You just added a third one today, and you're still dragging it," Sendo silently retorted.

"Hmph, back in my playing days, I used to pull truck tires!" Coach Kataoka said with pride.

"Truck tires?"

"Yeah, I dragged them too." Sendo inwardly quipped again but kept his thoughts to himself.

The conversation soon shifted to why Sawamura hadn't attended a recent game.

At first, Sawamura was terrified, thinking the coach was angry.

But after some tense questioning, he ended up saying something classic that made Coach Kataoka realize what the team was missing.

"Hahaha!" Coach Kataoka suddenly stood up, startling Sawamura.

"Kid, that determination of yours… it's just like a true ace."

"Uh… I mean…" Sawamura gawked at the sight of the coach standing stark naked, unable to formulate a proper response.

"That angle… I don't even know where to begin!"

"Bring your glove to the field tomorrow!" Coach Kataoka commanded.

"Huh?"

"Since you were honest, I'll give you another chance."

Sawamura stared at the coach's retreating figure, completely at a loss for words.

"An opportunity like this doesn't come often. Make the most of it, Eijun!" Sendo finally broke his silence.

"Huh? Ah! Sendo! When did you get here?"

"I've been here the whole time… I came with the sunglasses uncle."

"So… you heard everything?"

"Of course. And I have to say, your guts are as big as ever, Eijun!"

"Guts? I thought I was going to die! Why didn't you warn me?"

"How could I have warned you?"

"Well… uh…" Sawamura couldn't think of a good answer.

After over a month of waiting, the opportunity had finally arrived.

"Don't let it slip away. Good luck!" Sendo patted Sawamura on the shoulder and offered some encouragement before leaving.

"Shoujo manga, I'm back! Thanks for waiting!" Sendo thought as he walked away.

But it seemed today just wasn't his day.

When he returned to his room, Tanba and Miyauchi were there, chatting about something.

Watanabe wasn't around, so Sendo didn't feel comfortable reading his manga. He could only silently apologize to it.

"Hey, Sendo!" Tanba called out, initiating a conversation.

Despite having a personality similar to Miyuki's, Sendo was someone everyone trusted. Tanba, who was naturally shy, would never initiate a conversation with Miyuki but found it easy to talk to Sendo.

"What's up, Tanba -senpai?"

"I'm heading to the indoor practice field with Miyauchi later. You don't seem too busy. Could I ask you to stand in the batter's box? I want to make some adjustments for tomorrow's game."

"Of course! I'm not doing anything important anyway."

"Thanks!"

"Hmph!" Miyauchi snorted lightly but in a good-natured way.

"I know First String practice is already tough, but if you have time, it wouldn't hurt to observe how the seniors train at night," Miyauchi offered his advice with a smile.

"Got it! But I've been feeling a bit out of it lately, so let me take some time to adjust first."

The three then headed to the indoor practice field together.

"Tomorrow's game is important. If you find your rhythm, try to limit your pitches, Tanba -senpai," Sendo suggested as they entered.

"Right."

"There are more right-handed batters among the first-years, so I'll stand on the right side. Tanba-senpai's curveball feels like magic—I'd like to experience it from the batter's box!"

"Thanks for helping out!"

"No problem!"

"Don't you think we're being a bit childish, taking a game against first-years so seriously?" Miyauchi asked, amused by Sendo's serious demeanor.

"Not at all."

"Huh?"

"This is an opportunity. It has nothing to do with grade level. Tomorrow, seven of the starters are resting to prepare for the Kanto Tournament. That means the remaining eleven players will have their performance evaluated based on tomorrow's game," Sendo said firmly, addressing the two seniors.

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