The Baseballers Dream - Diamond no Ace

|14|

|14| Harsh Reminder

After quickly rushing to get ready for practice, Hoshiko made her way to the field.

As she arrived at the field all the first years were already there. It was easy to tell that they all rushed to the field to make sure that they weren't late. They didn't want to feel the wrath of the coach's fury if they were to ever be late.

As Hoshiko entered the dugout, she began to put on her cleats. After doing so she began to do some basic stretches to prepare her body for the training. She knew her uncle had a brutal way of training his teams.

As she was in the midst of her stretches, the second and third years began to appear on the field.

As the first-string players arrived, it was Yuki who first spoke.

"Alright line up." He ordered. Everyone fell into line, waiting for their next instruction.

"Alright, warm up!" Everyone followed suit and began to run around the field and warm up.

After warming up, the group was split in two. The first-string players went to the other field while the rest remained on the current field.

"Furuya, Sawamura, and Kataoka Hoshiko, report to the dugout immediately." The intercom rang out across the field. The girl looked upwards towards the intercom. She let out a sigh and made her way to the dugout.

After reaching the dugout, two other boys who she recognized as other first-years stood next to her. She guessed that they were Furuya and Sawamura.

In the dugout already waiting was the head coach, assistant coach, Miyuki, another older boy, and an older girl. Hoshiko was curious as to what they were doing there.

Hoshiko tried to read her uncle's expression but as usual, he was stoic and unreadable. What did the coach want with them? From what Hoshiko could understand, the two boys next to her were pitchers, with Miyuki being here it confirmed her suspicion that they might be forming batteries. However, for the older girl, she had no idea as to why she was here.

"Furuya, you will be forming a battery with Miyuki. Work hard and well. If you do, I will be seeing you on the field during games." The Coach simply stated. The boy nodded and headed off with Miyuki.

The boy with glasses looked back to the younger boy and girl. He knew why Sawamura was there, but he was confused as to why Hoshiko was there. All he could piece together was that it might have something to do with the managers since Fujiwara Takako was there. Takako was the leader of the management team.

"Sawamura. You will be working with Chris, a third-year. He will teach you the fundamentals of pitching, listen and work hard." The boy Sawamura didn't look happy to be paired with the third year. The two nodded and headed off to the bullpen.

All that remained now was Hoshiko, the coach, assistant coach, and the older girl.

"Hoshiko, you will work with Fujiwara Takako. She is a third-year student and the leader of the managing team. She will teach you what goes on behind the scenes and what needs to be done to make sure the team and staff work in harmony." Coach said.

Hoshiko looked at the older girl.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Kataoka Hoshiko, but you can call me Hoshiko." The blonde girl introduced herself with a bow.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Hoshiko if you please follow me and I will introduce you to all the other managers." Takako said. Hoshiko nodded her head and began to follow the older girl.

Although she was happy to meet other girls, she did feel defeated as the thought of not being able to play became more of a reality. As the two walked towards the shed, Hoshiko looked down at her training uniform.