The Old Baseball Player System

Shun and Jiro sat in silence while watching TV. After a while, Jiro began to feel less uncomfortable and started paying attention to the presenter's words on the screen.

"And now, make some noise for the players representing the Central League!" - The presenter announced enthusiastically.

"Ohhhh, hey Jiro, look! It's starting!" - Shun got excited as he watched the Central League players enter the field.

"Ah" - Jiro was surprised by Shun's sudden excitement. He also looked at the screen and saw the players coming in, but he didn't share Shun's enthusiasm.

"Man, look at this, Matsuda and Murakami on the same team! You only see that in the national team!" - Shun got up from the sofa and approached the TV, saying excitedly while keeping his eyes glued to the screen.

"Um, are they good?" - Jiro asked, confused, clearly not familiar with the world of professional baseball.

"What?!" - Shun turned his head in shock. He couldn't believe Jiro didn't know the two biggest Japanese baseball stars. But before he could say anything, a delicious smell reached his nose as Mrs. Fukuoka entered the room.

"Hey boys, I made some onigiri!" - Mrs. Fukuoka said with a smile as she brought in a tray full of rice balls, a popular snack in Japan.

"Ohh! Thank you, Mrs. Fukuoka!" - Shun quickly bowed and thanked her. He then dove into the onigiri without a hint of table manners, making Jiro and his mother laugh.

"And now, the representatives of the Pacific League!" - The presenter's voice came from the TV, immediately grabbing Shun's attention.

"José Martínez!" - Shun shouted excitedly as the superstar appeared on the screen, not even bothering to finish chewing.

* cough cough * - Shun began to turn red as he choked on the food.

"Ahhh, water! Jiro, pat his back!" - Mrs. Fukuoka said in a panic as she rushed to the kitchen to get some water.

"Shun senpai!" - Jiro also panicked as he patted Shun's back.

"Here! Drink this!" - Mrs. Fukuoka quickly returned and handed a glass of water to Shun.

* gulp * - Shun wasted no time gulping down the water in the glass. He then took a deep breath as he calmed down.

"Haha, my bad! Thanks for the help!" - Shun laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. Jiro and his mother sighed in relief after seeing that Shun was alright. Mrs. Fukuoka then left the room, leaving the boys alone again.

After Shun almost choked to death, the heavy atmosphere seemed to have dissipated. Jiro felt more at ease, and the two started chatting about the game. Shun spent a good amount of time introducing the players and talking about how amazing each of them was. Jiro listened, impressed, and when the game began, the two friends started cheering enthusiastically.

"Yeahhh, nice homer, José!" - Jiro jumped off the sofa excitedly as he watched José Martínez hit a solo home run in the fifth inning. The boy was clearly feeling much more comfortable.

"Haha, I told you, Jiro! José is incredible!" - Shun said excitedly, also getting up from the sofa to cheer. After a bit of celebrating, they both sat back down on the sofa.

"Hey Jiro, it's getting late. Isn't your dad coming home tonight?" - Shun seemed to have noticed something and asked casually. It was already nighttime, and he hadn't seen Jiro's father. Since his own dad often spent nights away from home because of work, he didn't think much of it and brought it up.

"Oh, that..." - Jiro's expression changed as soon as he heard Shun ask about his father. Shun could sense the sadness and hesitation in Jiro's expression. Realizing he had said something he shouldn't have, he opened his mouth to apologize, but the young nerd spoke first:

"My dad died in an accident when I was little."

"Sorry, man, I didn't know." - Shun said sincerely.

"It's alright! It was a long time ago, and besides, I don't talk about it much, so there's no way you could've known, haha!" - Jiro gave a light laugh to break the tension, but Shun could tell this was a sensitive topic for him.

Shun decided not to bring it up again and went back to talking about the game. Jiro also seemed relaxed and continued watching the game excitedly. In the end, the Central League team defeated the Pacific League team 7 X 4, with several thrilling moments that had both Shun and Jiro cheering excitedly.

"Well, I'm heading out!" - Shun stood up from the sofa. He needed to be home before his parents, otherwise, his mom would probably scold him for being out so late on a weekday.

"Oh, right." - Jiro nodded, then quickly went to tell his mom that Shun was leaving. After a few minutes of saying goodbye to Mrs. Fukuoka and hearing that he should come back more often to "play" with Jiro, Shun finally managed to leave Jiro's house.

"Wait a minute, senpai!" - Jiro shouted as he ran out of his house to the sidewalk where Shun was.

"What is it?" - Shun stopped in his tracks and turned around.

"I'm sorry!" - Jiro said loudly, bowing 90 degrees toward Shun.

"Huh? What are you doing?" - Shun looked at him calmly and asked.

"I-I was wrong. I shouldn't have said I was quitting baseball! I was pathetic, I let you down, the coach, Captain Kazuki, and everyone else who helped and believed in me!" - Jiro stuttered a bit, but he managed to gather the courage needed to admit his mistakes.

"Let me down, huh?" - Shun became a bit pensive when he heard Jiro's words, but he quickly continued with a calm expression:

"Jiro, if you play baseball for my sake, or for the coach, or anyone else, you should quit baseball as soon as possible!"

"Huh?" - Jiro was confused. He didn't expect to hear something like that from Shun.

"If you're playing for someone else, it makes no sense to continue. But you know... as someone who once quit baseball, if you feel frustrated every time you're hit, if you feel confident every time you strike out the batter, if you step on the mound and feel the expectations of all your teammates and that gives you strength...

if you truly love baseball, Jiro, you'll probably regret quitting." - Shun didn't wait for his kohai's response. He turned around and began walking home, leaving Jiro standing there, unsure of what to say.

"Haha, actually, even if you stay on the team, Jiro, don't think you'll be pitching whenever you want!" - Shun stopped and spoke with a laugh.

"What?" - Jiro asked reflexively, still not fully absorbing all of Shun's words.

"You know, I'm still a pitcher!" - Shun said with a smile as he continued walking.