(Eijun's POV)
Time for the skills tests.
I glance around at the other first-years — half of them look like they're about to puke. Honestly? I remember that feeling. Last time, I didn't even get to do the skill tests, but Haruichi told me they were boring.
Scanning the crowd, I spot Harucchi and head over to him.
"Kominato Haruichi, right?" I ask with a grin.
"Y-yes… you're Sawamura Eijun, correct?" he replies, cheeks faintly pink.
*I forgot he used to be this shy.*
"Yeah!" I say, grinning wider and holding out my hand. "Wanna be friends? And can I call you Harucchi?"
He hesitates only a second before taking my hand. "Sure, Sawamura-kun."
I wave him off. "Call me Eijun! We're friends now."
He nods.
"So, Harucchi, how do you think you'll do?" I ask, bouncing slightly on my heels.
"I don't know, but I hope I do okay. What about you, Eijun-kun?" he asks.
I tap my chin. "Honestly? I think I'll do well. I trained really hard for this."
He smiles — just a small one, but it's there.
Before we can talk more, Boss's voice cuts through the chatter. Every first-year turns to look at him. I straighten my back, hands behind me.
"Alright, first-years," Boss announces. "We'll start the skills test."
Whispers ripple through the group.
"First is speed — 10-meter sprints. You have three tries; your fastest time will count. Split into four groups, five in each. Managers will supervise. Good luck."
Everyone starts organizing into groups. Harucchi grabs my sleeve and pulls me into his — Group Three.
"Group One, get set… go!" a manager calls.
They sprint, decent form, but the best time is six seconds. The second group runs — seven seconds tops.
Then it's our turn.
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Mission: impress Boss and Rei-chan during skills tests
Completion Reward: +50 control
Failure to Complete: control (A down to D)
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*Damn, Jack… Alright, I'll do it.*
We line up.
"Ready… get set… go!" Boss calls.
I explode forward, legs driving hard against the dirt. The finish line blurs past. When I look back, everyone else is still mid-sprint — a good three seconds behind me. Their stares make me frown.
"3.34 seconds," the manager says.
I nod. Two more runs — both around three seconds.
One of the managers jogs over to Boss. They talk for a bit before Boss looks straight at me. I sigh.
"Sawamura, come here," he says, voice firm.
I jog over and salute. "YES, BOSS!"
The manager excuses herself.
"Takashima will handle your skill tests from here," Boss says.
I tilt my head. "Did I do something wrong, Boss?"
*I just did what they asked…*
Boss shakes his head. "No, you didn't do anything wrong. Tell me, what did you think of the other first-years during that test?"
I scratch the back of my head. "Hmm… average. Most hit six to seven seconds, which is fine. A few stood out — like Harucchi, who got five."
Boss nods. Then Rei-chan walks over.
"REI-CHAN!" I grin. "Boss says you'll handle my tests instead of the managers!"
She looks at Boss to confirm, and he nods.
"Oh, and Takashima," Boss adds, "Miyuki will catch for Sawamura — inside facility."
Rei-chan's eyes widen slightly before she nods and turns to me.
"Come on, Sawamura-kun."
I follow, skipping behind her.
"Alright, Sawamura-kun, strength test first." She hands me a grip tester. I squeeze with my left hand — 60.6 flashes on the screen.
Her eyes widen.
"Is that good, Rei-chan?" I ask.
"Yeah… it's good, Sawamura-kun," she says, then hands me my new glove. "Now, balance in your windup."
My eyes light up at the glove. "WOAHHH, THIS ONE LOOKS AMAZING! THANKS, REI-CHAN!"
She chuckles as I slip it on and get into position — but pause.
"Wait, we didn't test my right hand!"
"Oh, right." She hands me the tester again. This time, the number reads 70.4.
Her eyes widen even more before she clears her throat. "Now, balance — left first."
I nod, lift my right leg high into a split-like pose, and hold. Stopwatch starts. Ten minutes later, Rei-chan switches me. Same result with the right leg.
When she finally says "Relax," I grin, shaking out my arms and legs.
"Alright, next is your pitching test," Rei-chan says.
"Finallyyyyyy!"
She looks around. "Miyuki-kun! Come here, please."
He jogs over in full catcher gear.
"What's up, Rei-chan?"
"We're testing Sawamura-kun's pitching. Coach Kataoka wants you to catch for him."
"Oh reallyyy?" Miyuki smirks at me.
I glare. "Told you I wasn't lying, Miyuki Kazuya."
He waves it off. "Yeah, yeah."
Rei-chan says, "We'll do it inside."
Miyuki nods, and we all move to the indoor facility. He crouches; I step onto the mound.
"Sawamura-kun, how many pitches do you have?" Rei-chan asks.
I grin. "Which arm, Rei-chan?"
Miyuki freezes. "Wait — which arm?"
Rei-chan sighs. "That's one of the reasons Coach wanted you here. He can pitch with both arms."
Miyuki's jaw drops as she continues, "His left arm hits 150 km/h and his right hits 160."
"What?! Last time it was 135!"
I puff out my chest. "I trained hard!"
Miyuki just mutters something and puts his mask on.
"Left arm first," Rei-chan says.
I nod. "Okay, number 0 is moving fastball. Number 1 is crossfire. Number 2 is"
"Wait," Miyuki cuts in. "What do you mean by numbers?"
"Oh! My pitches are numbered. My form doesn't change — only the grip does."
Their mouths drop. "Anyways for my left arm its number 0 is my moving fastball, number 1 is my crossfire, number 2 is my two seamer, number 3 is my palmball change up, number 4 is my four seamer, number 5 is my circle change up, number 6 is my normal cutter, number 7 is cutter kai, number 8 is my vulcan change-up, number 9 is my slider, number 10 is my curveball, number 11 is my custom splitter,"
I take a deep breath
"For my right arm its Number 0 is moving fastball, number 1 is crossfire, number 2 is fourseam fastball, number 3 is circle change-up, number 4 is normal cutter, number 5 is slider and number 6 is curveball"
When I finally finish, they're still frozen.
"What?" I ask, frowning.
"Nothing," Rei-chan says quickly. "Alright, left arm first."
(Miyuki's POV)
*Twelve pitches for the left hand, seven for the right — that's insane.*
I punch my catcher's mitt and set up. "Alright, three pitches each — inside, middle, outside."
He nods. "Yes, Miyuki-senpai!"
He winds up.
*Whoosh*
*bang*
The ball smacks dead center into my mitt. My glove doesn't move an inch. Goosebumps.
Next one — same result. Third one — perfect again.
Every pitch cuts, drops, or curves exactly where I call it. Then—
"Cutter Kai," I say.
He grins. "Don't move your glove, senpai. Trust me."
I steel myself.
*Whoosh*
*bang*
The pitch looks like a straight fastball before breaking hard at the last moment.
I stare at the ball in my mitt. *That's… unreal.*
We go through all of them. Each one nastier than the last.
(Eijun's POV)
"Alright, right arm now," Rei-chan says.
I grin and switch my glove. "I don't have the same control, but it's accurate enough."
He nods. "Moving fastball."
I throw — Miyuki misses.
My eyes widen.
*Miyuki missed?!*
He frowns. "Again."
The next one hits. Then a few more — he misses some.
When we finish, Rei-chan sighs. "Alright, that's it for now. Lunch time. Batting and fielding after."
"Got it! Thanks, Rei-chan! Thanks, Miyuki-senpai!" I bow and run off toward the cafeteria.
(Rei-chan's POV)
*That was insane, even Miyuki-kun missed*
"So, what do you think?" I ask.
He shakes his head slowly. "Rei-chan… even I missed some. Maybe someone could catch his left, but his right? You'd need a one-second reaction time. The ball's invisible till it's already in your glove."
His eyes sparkle — excitement, awe, maybe fear.
I nod. "Alright, go to lunch."
Then I head to Coach Kataoka's office.
"How did it go?" he asks.
I smirk. "We didn't reach fielding or batting yet. But pitching? Miyuki couldn't catch half of them."
That catches his attention.
"He has twelve left-handed pitches and seven right-handed. Even Miyuki said no one else could handle them."
Kataoka smirks behind his glasses. "Good."
(Eijun's POV)
I grab my lunch and spot Haruichi. "Hey, Harucchi!"
He looks up. "Hey, Eijun-kun! Where'd you go after coach called you?"
"Oh, Boss made me do my skill tests with Rei-chan," I say between bites.
Miyuki and Mochi-senpai sit across from us.
"Oi, Sawamura, how'd you do?" Mochi asks.
"I haven't finished yet."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
I grin. "Because Miyuki here kept missing my pitches, it took longer."
Miyuki chokes on his drink. The cafeteria goes silent.
Mochi bursts out laughing. "So the genius catcher couldn't keep up?"
Miyuki grumbles, "You try catching 160 km/h without seeing the release point…"
Mochi stops laughing. "Good."
I grin, pat Harucchi's shoulder. "Oh yeah — this is Haruichi, I call him Harucchi though, my first first year friend and a second baseman."
They greet him, and we eat until lunch ends.
Afterward, I stretch, glance at the field
*Jack, show me my stats*
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STATS MENU
Attribute Points: 0
Stamina: A (57/100)
Speed: B- (49/100)
Agility: B- (69/100)
Strength: B- (35/100)
Flexibility: A (55/100)
Control: A (0/100)
Batting: c+ (98/100)
Bunting: A (57/100)
Fielding: C+ (97/100)
Base Running: B- (56/100)
Mentality: A+ (77/100)
Baseball IQ: A+ (75/100)
Non-Dominant Arm: C+ (88/100)
Skills: 29 (tap for more info)
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I nod, grin, and jog back toward Boss and Rei-chan.