[CH.59] Baseball Class and Suspicious Information
**TL Notes: So as not to confuse you all, I made a list of the characters that get mentioned in this chapter that you may have forgotten before. Sumire Matsuda: MC Yoko Ando (Yoko-san): Sumire's manager. Touka Kimura: Sumire's close friend and classmate in Tokyo. Nao and Fumika: Sumire's close friends. |
"How about it, Yoko-san? Does it suit me?"
Wearing a uniform that was slightly loose due to not having the perfect fit, I asked, and Yoko-san enthusiastically nodded repeatedly.
"It looks great, Sumire. You're undoubtedly the team's standout, a Madonna who receives admiration from your teammates. Let's take some photos, photos!"
Although I asked for her opinion, Yoko-san raised her energy level and began taking photos while saying somewhat incomprehensible things. I gave a wry smile and posed several times, but I had to forcibly end the photoshoot when she started changing the film. I did it that way because there's no end if I followed Yoko-san's way.
This year, a certain Osaka broadcasting station is celebrating its several decades-long anniversary, and I was invited to a commemorative drama set at a location in Hyogo Prefecture, a baseball field. The drama, which is just a one-hour time slot, doesn't have a very complex plot. It depicts the struggles of a little league baseball team, and I play the role of the team's pitcher.
Honestly, since I was reborn as a girl, I've never played baseball, and in my previous life, I hardly ever played baseball even for fun. The glove they bought for me was always shining, so you can tell just from that how little I had to do with baseball in my past life.
I was selected by the producer without an audition, so when I first met them, they asked me to "try pitching a bit," and I moved in a way that I thought might work, but my movements must have been quite terrible. I ended up having a week of special training during the shoot with the girl playing the catcher role.
The girl playing the catcher and I are the only ones from Tokyo, while the others belong to theater groups in Kansai, so they attend school until the late afternoon on weekdays. Therefore, we have practice in the morning, and until they arrive, there's scheduled time for meetings, breaks, and free time, so I find it a relatively easy job for now.
"Sumire, how are the preparations over there?"
With a clinking of metal sounds, the catcher character, Tomoya Iizuka, appeared. He belongs to "Dannies" a male idol group, and when we introduced ourselves on the first day, he said something like, "Oh, you're Yuta's girlfriend," and at the time, I thought, "I might have to settle this with my fists," but after discussing it properly, it seems he just had a misunderstanding, and we've reconciled. It's only our second day meeting, but we already call each other Sumire and Tomo-kun.
Actually, about this, there's a source of all evil named Yuta, so when I go back to Tokyo, I'm thinking about scolding him. In order to make Tomo-kun believe me, I made a phone call to Yuta's house and conducted an inquiry, and it turned out that he was the only one in their group who didn't have a girlfriend, so he lied and pretended to be my girlfriend, which was quite a pitiful confession. You never know where such lies might circulate as true stories, so I really want him to stop. Yoko-san was also angry, so I think our agency will probably take this up with "Dannies" as well. I want Yuta to deeply reflect on this, he has a cute face, and if he acted normally, he could easily get a girlfriend.
"Catcher's gear looks heavy, Tomo-kun. Are you okay?"
"It's heavier than wearing nothing, but it wasn't as heavy as I imagined."
Even though it's just a practice, they use hardballs, so I guess it's necessary to have sturdy protection. But if the gear is too heavy, it would restrict movement, so they must have found the right balance between strength and weight. While pondering this, I touched Tomo-kun's protector, and it seems that the coaches have arrived. I heard that two university students from the local university baseball team would be here to coach the pitcher and catcher, but I wonder what they're like.
The two university students brought in by the staff seem earnest and didn't give off any casual vibes. After hearing their introductions, I found out that the pitcher coach is Mr. Aida, and the catcher coach is Mr. Higashi. They mentioned that they are battery mates on the same university baseball team.
In any case, since we'll be receiving coaching from them, we introduced ourselves and asked for their guidance. Baseball seems to have strict hierarchical relationships and discipline, so our proper introductions seemed to have left a good impression on them.
"Oh, Sumire-chan, you're quite flexible. Did you practice rhythmic gymnastics or ballet?"
As we split into two groups for warm-up exercises and stretching, Mr. Aida, who had been helping me stretch, expressed his surprise.
"I've been doing stretching exercises after baths since I was a child, and I gradually became more flexible."
I replied with a wry smile, and Mr. Aida had an impressed expression. Sticking with something from childhood can be difficult since children often get bored. I was like that in my previous life too.
Now, I can spread my legs to 180 degrees and touch my chest to the floor, which is a little point of pride for me. The me from my previous life was embarrassingly laughed at by everyone when I had to do the sit-and-reach test during sports day, and I could barely bend down to my knees. But that's not me anymore.
After finishing our stretching exercises, Mr. Aida and I had a light catch ball session to get used to the ball. Even when he threw the ball gently and with an arc, I managed to catch it with my glove without dropping it. However, the drawback was that the provided glove was too big for my small hands and felt like it might come off easily.
I briefly glanced over at Tomo-kun, who had removed his protective gear and was now playing catch with me, just like I was. It made sense to remove the equipment during warm-ups and stretching exercises. Tomo-kun effortlessly caught the balls that were thrown at him harder than me, and it was quite impressive, almost making me want to say, "Boys will be boys." By the way, back when I was a boy, I couldn't catch the ball as stylishly as he did. Everyone has their strengths.
After warming up with a catch, it was time for pitching practice. The video editors could work their magic later, and pitching control and all that could be tweaked in post-production. What the director emphasized was how it looked on screen. They said that as long as I mastered the correct pitching form to some extent, that would be sufficient. So, my goal was to achieve a decent level of control where I could hit my intended target, and I was instructed accordingly by Mr. Aida.
I threw about ten pitches to Mr. Aida to start with, and he gave me advice on not lifting my leg too high and keeping my chin tucked in. After a few rounds of this, he approached me.
"Sumire-chan, even though you're slender, your lower body is stable, but your upper body is a bit shaky. Imagine a rod placed along your spine, right down your back, while you're pitching. This should help stabilize your upper body. Also, since we're here, let's try pitching to the catcher under conditions similar to the actual shoot. Getting used to it is important."
I nodded in agreement, and Mr. Aida approached Tomo-kun, who was being instructed by Mr. Higashi, asking him how he was doing with his progress. Since standing alone was a bit lonely, I walked over to Tomo while wiping off my sweat with a towel.
"How's it going over there? You don't seem too tired, but are you working diligently?"
"I'm doing my best. I just keep throwing the ball and fixing my mistakes as I go, so it's not that exhausting."
If you only listened to the words, it might sound like I was being mocked, but his tone had a teasing quality to it, so I responded naturally. Catchers, who squat to catch the ball, have various nuances in their stance and require many specific details. As I listened to Tomo's somewhat grumbling explanation, I offered words of encouragement like "It must have been tough," "I couldn't do that, you're amazing, Tomo-kun," which seemed to have some effect. His tired expression seemed to brighten up a bit.
In the drama, we are partners, and as the only two members who came from Tokyo, it's important to support and encourage each other. My position is definitely easier, and if that's all it takes for a successful drama shoot, it's a piece of cake for me.
After that, I continued practicing pitching with Tomo-kun until lunchtime. I started to get the hang of aiming for where the mitt was set up, but it was frustrating that, perhaps due to a lack of strength, the balls I threw still ended up as slow, gentle curves and didn't look as impressive.
"Sumire-chan, your release point is a bit early, which is why the ball becomes a slow curve. Also, try to swing your arm firmly while throwing, you'll definitely be able to throw a straight ball."
Following advice from Mr. Aida, I improved to the point where about one out of every three pitches reached Tomo-kun's mitt a bit faster. Encouraged by the progress, I finished the morning practice feeling a sense of accomplishment. I thoroughly washed my hands and did some gargling, then received the bento lunch prepared by the staff. I sat at a table in the break room, which was mostly occupied by adults. Tomo-kun joined me at the same table, and shortly after, Mr. Aida and Mr. Higashi also came over.
"Is it okay if we eat together, Sumire-chan? I feel kind of uneasy being surrounded by so many people I don't know."
I happily invited the two university students to sit across from me. Perhaps it was because they were surrounded by unfamiliar staff members, or maybe it was to build rapport with us for future coaching, but I believed that communicating with us was crucial for them to effectively convey their instructions. Building trust in various ways suited to each person's position was the best approach for successful coaching.
"But both of you came all the way from Tokyo, and you're taking a whole week off from school. Especially Tomo-kun, you're in your sixth year, and you're graduating this month, right? Don't you want to go to school?"
"Well, I'll be going to a regular public middle school, so I'll have almost the same classmates as before. I don't really feel like I have to go... What about you, Sumire-chan?"
After he took a few bites of his bento and answered, Tomo-kun, without much change in expression, turned to me and said, "I want to see my important friends, but I don't really want to go for now. At least not until the sixth graders graduate."
"Is Sumire-chan in fifth grade? Are there any kids you don't like in the sixth grade? If anyone bullies you, I'll go sort them out," Tomo-kun joked, seemingly making light of the situation after hearing my answer. However, it wasn't bullying I was dealing with, it was quite the opposite.
Ever since that chocolate commercial aired, I couldn't figure out what had touched their hearts, but I had started receiving more and more confessions from sixth-grade boys. From late February until today, it had reached a point where I barely managed to count them all on both hands. Considering the fact that it was quite a high pace of confessions in such a short period, it was clear that something had happened to pique their interest.
The first time, I didn't know why I was called to the back of the school building, so I went there alone. However, when I consulted Touka about it later, she scolded me with a serious expression, saying, "It's dangerous, so next time take me with you." Thanks to that, when I turned down their confessions, it didn't escalate into anything troublesome. Nonetheless, rejecting the feelings of someone who cares for you with your own hands is emotionally quite taxing. I genuinely wish they wouldn't call me out anymore and that they wouldn't confess to me.
When I tried to express my feelings a bit more subtly, both Mr. Aida and Mr. Higashi made jokes like, "Certainly, Sumire-chan from that commercial is cute," and "If I were in the same school, I might have joined the confessors too." However, Tomo-kun was looking at me with a serious expression.
"Sumire, how should I put it... Your appearance is like that of a high-maintenance girl, but your casual attitude might make them think, 'Maybe I have a chance with her.' If you're not interested, it's better to keep a bit more distance from the boys so as not to give them the wrong idea."
Being told that it was completely wrong to address someone by a nickname on the first day left me in shock. I realized that maybe my way of interacting with younger elementary school boys with an ease that made them seem much younger to me, akin to how I'd treat relatives, was actually increasing familiarity.
Then he proceeded to teach me various ways of interacting with fans the way idol agencies recommend. It was really informative. Striking a balance between not getting too close and not pushing them away seemed quite challenging. I don't have any interest in playing with the boys' feelings, and I'm not looking for any romantic relationships at the moment. In other words, I'm not interested in love affairs, and I don't want to be bothered by such troubles. To avoid such problems, I resolved to learn the idol-like way of interacting with the opposite sex - a careful balance of closeness and distance.
As we were having this conversation, I was completely oblivious to Ms. Aida and Mr. Higashi, who were lamenting, "I should have gotten close to cute girls when I was in elementary school" and "Impossible. We were immersed in baseball with you every day."
---
"...Yes, thank you. I was happy to hear your voice after such a long time. Take care, Fumika. Yes, see you again."
With a clank, I hung up the receiver, letting out a small sigh. After getting through the afternoon photo shoot, I had dinner and a bath at the hotel. After informing my roommate, Yoko-san, I headed to the public phone corner. In the late Heisei period of my past life, it was getting difficult to find these public phones, but in the current world, mobile phones had not yet become widespread, so you could spot them here and there.
There were about five public phones lined up in this corner, so I figured I could have a longer conversation without a problem. However, it was getting late, so I had to be careful not to inconvenience the other person's family.
Thinking about that, I talked to Nao and Fumika for about 30 minutes each on the phone, enjoying catching up and discussing local news. Since phone charges were still calculated by distance back then, I felt relieved that it cost less than calling from Tokyo. Lately, I'd received telephone cards from people at TV stations and companies, so I gratefully used them for calls with Nao and Fumika and my parents.
"Anyway, since telephone cards will probably lose their face value in the distant future, I thought it would be more effective to use them and hear Nao and Fumika's voices as much as possible."
Leaving that aside, what Fumika told me had been lingering in the back of my mind, making me feel somewhat uneasy.
"Oh, welcome back. How was it with Nao-chan and Fumika-chan? Are they doing well?"
When I returned to my room, Yoko-san greeted me while she was looking at some documents on the table. I replied with a "I'm back," and for some reason, my voice sounded less cheerful, which made Yoko-san look at me questioningly.
"What's wrong? Did you and the two of them have a fight?"
"No, Nao and Fumika are still getting along just fine. It's not that. It's something Fumika mentioned earlier."
Fumika mentioned that there seemed to be some strange men snooping around our house lately, trying to gather information. The source of this information was Fumika's aunt, but she had never seen their faces, and their way of speaking didn't have a local accent, sounding more like standard Japanese. Since it's a small town, everyone pretty much knows each other. I don't have any information that I'd particularly be worried about if it were to be found, but I would be troubled if my sister's situation got twisted and spread as something I did. It might be an overactive imagination, but in the worst-case scenario, it could cause trouble for Ms. Azusa and the people at the agency.
"Fumika-chan's mom, who I exchanged phone numbers with when we met before, I'll give her a call now to have a quick chat. It should be fine if there's nothing particularly serious, and it's always better not to be caught off guard."
Saying so, Yoko-san got up and left the room with brisk steps. I continued working on the school assignments in my room, and about 15 minutes later, Yoko-san returned.
"It's in the morning tomorrow. I'll take Sumire to the set, say hi to the staff, and then I'll make a little trip to Sumire's hometown. Oh, don't worry, it's just to be on the safe side, just in case."
"I'm sorry for causing you trouble, Yoko-san."
"What are you talking about? I'm Sumire's manager, after all. Sumire is easy to work with, so I'd actually like you to rely on me more."
Yoko-san gave my head a slightly firm pat and then walked back to the table where she had been sitting earlier. Even though I truly believed that everything would be fine if I left it to Yoko-san, for some reason, the small unease in my heart just wouldn't disappear on that day.
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