Without giving him a chance to protest, Kanzaki Ryou turned to Masuko Tōru, who was sitting at a table eating pudding and watching the game.
"Senior, can I have another one?"
"Ugh! You've already had one!"
Masuko Tōru glared at Kanzaki Ryou. This junior had shamelessly eaten one of his puddings as soon as he arrived—and now he wanted a second? How could such an audacious person exist!
"Well, don't be stingy, Senior. On your birthday, I'll treat you to a pudding cake!" Kanzaki Ryou said with a grin.
"A pudding cake?!"
Masuko Tōru shivered at the thought. How big would a pudding cake even be?
"Mm… twelve inches."
"You're serious?"
"Of course."
Masuko Tōru considered for a moment, then relented. He pulled a pudding from a drawer and handed it to Kanzaki Ryou.
"I trust you," he said.
"Thanks!" Kanzaki Ryou laughed and began eating.
As the saying goes, professionals do professional things, and the pudding, carefully curated by this pudding expert, was indeed delicious. Next time he returned to Kyoto, Kanzaki Ryou thought, he would bring some back for his sister to try.
After playing games with Kuramochi until midnight, Kanzaki Ryou and Miyuki finally yawned and returned to their dorms.
"Kid, where were you sneaking off to in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?" Azuma Kiyokuni, still scrolling on his phone, asked curiously.
"Just playing games… relaxing a bit," Kanzaki Ryou replied.
Azuma chuckled and didn't ask further, but Chris, diligently studying at the table, paused, looked up, and asked,
"Kanzaki, I heard your Japanese is very good?"
Kanzaki Ryou nodded. "Yes, Chris Senior. What about it?"
Chris hesitated, then asked, "Could you… teach me?"
"Huh??"
Kanzaki Ryou blinked. Did he really just hear that correctly? Teach Chris?
"Heh…"
"Senior's Japanese…"
"It's a little difficult. I didn't get first place on the last exam," Chris admitted.
Kanzaki Ryou was speechless. Not getting first place was considered difficult? Fortunately, Japanese was his strength—teaching Chris would be easy.
"Alright, starting tomorrow?" Kanzaki Ryou asked.
Chris nodded, then checked the time. "Time to sleep."
A week later, after mid-term exams, the Seidou Baseball Club prepared to enter the grueling Summer Training Camp.
The day before camp, Kanzaki Ryou had just finished self-training and was heading back to his dorm. Passing the cafeteria, he noticed the lights still on.
Peeking through the window, he saw several managers in aprons and gloves, busy at the tables.
Pushing the door open, the managers looked up.
"Kanzaki, why are you here?" Fujiwara Takako asked, a hint of surprise in her eyes.
"Just passing by. What are you all doing?" Kanzaki Ryou asked.
Fujiwara smiled. "Preparing delicious food! Tomorrow the training camp begins. Everyone is working hard, and we need to handle the logistics well."
Kanzaki Ryou glanced at the piles of rice balls. "You've all worked hard."
"No trouble at all," Fujiwara said.
Mita Yuka, kneading a rice ball, asked, "Kanzaki, what flavor do you like?"
"Me? I'm not picky," Kanzaki Ryou replied.
Mita pouted. "What a perfunctory answer."
"As long as it's made by a Senior, I'll like it," Kanzaki Ryou added with a grin.
Fujiwara quickly interjected. "Kanzaki, go rest. Tomorrow's training will be brutal. Without enough sleep, you won't last."
He nodded. "Okay, you all should rest early too."
The next evening, after daily training ended, the first-string players did not return to rest.
From that moment, special training for the first-string officially began.
Within thirty minutes, Kanzaki Ryou understood the devilish nature of this camp.
Since the first-string roster was announced, all activities focused entirely on these 20 players. Both A and B fields were dedicated to them, leaving barely any rest between rotations.
Base running training began.
"Kanzaki! Aren't you good? Run faster!"
"What are you doing crawling like a turtle!"
"You're done already? Pathetic!"
The third-year seniors, dropped from the roster and assisting with training, quietly took pleasure in Kanzaki Ryou's suffering. Some even mocked him openly.
After just one round, before he could catch his breath, they shouted for him to continue.
"What are you yelling about! So annoying!" Kanzaki Ryou shouted back.
"Oh, still have energy to talk? You're not tired yet," one sneered.
"Coach! Kanzaki can do ten more laps!"
"You're full of crap!" he roared.
Next came batting training.
Standing at the plate, Kanzaki Ryou's legs trembled as the first ball flew toward him.
Swing! Miss.
"Again!" the pitching senior shouted.
Swing! Miss again.
Damn it. His body was too exhausted to focus.
Even on the first day, the training was brutal.
And yet, Kanzaki Ryou could not ignore the sight of Miyuki vomiting from sheer exhaustion—a reminder that this was only the beginning of hellish Summer camp.
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