The Old Baseball Player System

The players of Shoto Junior High got on the bus to return to school. The way back was silent, as no one was in the mood to talk.

"We've arrived" - Coach Yamada said as he opened the bus door and got off first. The players began to disembark one by one.

"I'm going home, are you guys coming?" - Ren said a little disheartened, waiting for his friends' response.

"Hmm." - Kenta nodded. He had planned to go out with Mio after the game, but after this defeat, he just wanted to go home.

"You can go without me. I don't want to go home right now." - Shun said, he really didn't want to see the pitying looks from his family now.

"See you tomorrow then." - Ren understood Shun's feelings, he then turned and started to head home with Kenta.

Shun watched the other players leaving one by one, even the coach had already gone home. He then lay down on the school's baseball field while looking at the beautiful blue sky.

Various thoughts came to his mind, he began to imagine how great it would have been if they had beaten Hokuto. The third-year students would have stayed on the team a bit longer, they could have played more games in the summer, everyone would be happy... moreover, the people who came to watch his game today wouldn't have seen him being humiliated like that.

"Ahh, what am I thinking!" - Shun shook his head, he tried his best not to think about those things. The mere thought of his whole family, his friends, and even the girl he liked having seen him humiliated made him feel depressed.

He then got up from the field and went to the club room, he still needed to do his daily training, so he went to fetch some balls, nets, and other equipment he needed.

BAK!

Shun was approaching the club room when he heard a loud noise of something hitting the ground forcefully. He looked toward the club room and noticed that the door was open. He then approached cautiously as he began to hear the sound of crying and some screams coming from inside.

"Fuck! Fuck! Why?" - Shun reached the door and looked shocked at the scene before him. He saw his captain, Kazuki Yamamoto, on his knees, punching the ground forcefully while shouting in frustration. Shun noticed the tears falling from Kazuki's eyes, he also saw a dented helmet on the floor.

"Se- senpai!" - Shun shouted, catching Kazuki's attention, his voice was a mixture of confusion, sadness, and several other feelings he didn't even understand.

"Huh?" - Kazuki looked startled at Shun, his expression clearly showed that he didn't expect anyone to see him in that situation.

"I'm sorry!" - Shun quickly realized his mistake, he had called his captain instinctively, but after looking into his eyes, he didn't know what to say. He regretted embarrassing his captain and decided to leave him alone again.

"Wait, Shun!" - Kazuki said, stopping Shun from leaving.

Shun turned back without saying anything, he saw his captain standing up and wiping the tears from his face with his arm.

"I really didn't expect anyone to see me like this... seems you now know how pathetic your captain is, haha!" - Kazuki let out a laugh trying to lighten the mood, but Shun clearly felt the sadness in his captain's forced words.

"You're not pathetic at all, senpai!" - Shun clenched his fists tightly, he spoke determinedly, looking into his captain's eyes.

"Oh? I'm not? Hahaha, you don't need to try to cheer me up, Shun. You noticed too, didn't you? The Hokuto players were able to easily predict my calls, because of me, our pitchers were crushed. Not only that, but as a captain, I wasn't able to do anything to lead the team offensively.

I clearly failed as a captain and player." - Kazuki said in a self-deprecating tone.

"That..." - Shun couldn't find the right words to say. He wanted to tell his captain something, but none of Kazuki's words were lies, he really was read as a catcher and couldn't do anything on offense.

"Do you remember our conversation this morning?" - Kazuki asked calmly.

"Hmm." - Shun nodded, surprised, he would never forget that conversation.

"I'm counting on you!" - Kazuki put his hand on Shun's shoulder and spoke with determination. He then passed by Shun and began to leave the club room.

"What do you mean by that, senpai?!" - Shun felt a gigantic weight on his shoulders upon hearing Kazuki's words, but he also felt a bad feeling in his heart. He turned, looking at his captain's back, and asked.

"You know, with this game I realized... this is as far as I can go as a baseball player." - Kazuki stopped and spoke without turning to Shun.

Shun felt the urge to shout at his captain and tell him not to give up, but before he could, he saw Kazuki turning to him and smiling before continuing:

"That's why, Shun, I'm counting on you... show me that someone without talent can stand on the same stage as the talented... show me and all of Japan the true limits of someone without talent!"

Shun listened to his captain's words and didn't know how to react, he just watched his captain walk away without saying anything else.

He stood there for a while, trying to deal with the mix of feelings inside him. After a few minutes, he finally reacted.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!!"

BAK!

Shun screamed while grabbing the already dented helmet and throwing it forcefully against the wall. He felt the mix of emotions inside him explode, anger, frustration, sadness, and many others, he let them all out as he fell to his knees and punched the ground.

"Old man." - Shun called to the voice inside his head, his tears still falling as his fists clenched tightly.

[What is it?] - The old man felt all these emotions within the boy and responded in a calm voice. Even though he was irritated with Shun for saying he didn't need him and for ignoring him after the game against Hokuto, he understood the feelings the boy was experiencing.

"Tell me what I need to do... no matter how hard it is, I promise I'll listen to you. So please, help me become good enough to never lose again!" - Shun shouted aloud, determined. He wanted to get stronger. If he were good enough, none of this would have happened.