Tokyo Girlfriend Guide

Chapter 891: Little Sobu High School, die!

Sobu High School does not usually need to host large-scale sporting events, so the capacity of the stadium's stands is not large, and can only seat 300 people. However, this is sufficient for daily school activities, but it is obviously not enough to cope with large events like today.

Those who came early took seats in the stands. The entire stands were full, except for the central area, which was reserved for cheering and the school's cheerleading and wind band. The seats near there were also the most popular, because the greatest pleasure of watching a game live is not to see your favorite team score, but to cheer and sing the team song with like-minded people around you.

The same is true at the Koshien stadium. You can choose to buy a seat near the cheering seats, sing along with your favorite school's cheering team, cheer together, and receive a cheering uniform or other equipment, which is also the bulk of the expense.

Not only were the stands full, but the area outside the wire fence that surrounds the baseball field was also full. Japanese people were very used to this, as they could just lay out a cushion and take off their shoes to sit down. Some even brought large food boxes filled with snacks and drinks, as if they were having a picnic.

The scene was as lively as the cherry blossom viewing at the Sakura Festival. The head of the Sobu High School Student Union wanted to invite students to set up stalls. Imagine how fun it would be if students could taste snacks made by themselves during the game or buy some baseball-related souvenirs. However, due to venue restrictions and safety considerations, this idea was ultimately not realized.

Even so, just by looking at this simple baseball field, everyone can tell what kind of stuff the baseball club of Sobu High School is. Although the grass of the baseball field has been carefully trimmed, it still looks a bit sparse. The fence of the field is also a bit rusty, and it is obvious that it has not been repaired on a large scale for some years. However, the brown sand on the ground is absolutely flat. After finishing the training last night, Ryota Tsuchiya led the members to press it back and forth several times, just as training.

"This is too crude. How can you lock the spectators outside the stadium?"

A middle-aged man was shouting loudly, sitting cross-legged with his hands behind his back, with cans of beer and snacks at his feet. His voice was particularly harsh in the noisy crowd of spectators, attracting many people's attention. However, he didn't seem to care and continued to complain to himself. His face was full of dissatisfaction, and he was obviously disappointed with the viewing environment.

"Yeah, yeah, the stands are so small, there's not even a decent bullpen, where are those guys going to rest and prepare later?"

The man sitting on the same cushion with him echoed.

The bullpen is the practice area for the replacement pitcher. If the coach wants to replace the pitcher, he must let the next pitcher warm up first. If the situation on the field is not good, the commentator will immediately inform the audience loudly when he sees the players warming up.

"Oh! Coach xx asked xxx to warm up. Can xxxx turn the situation around? "

If it is a school with a good baseball team, there will be a surrounding stand around the baseball field, and there will even be a special studio on the stand to comment on the game. That is the best place to watch the game. After all, the seats below will always be exposed to the sun. But Sobu High School obviously does not have such good conditions. They do have wires and microphones next to the stands, which is very simple.

The two complained as they opened their beers and began to drink. Their conversation resonated with the audience around them, and many people began to discuss in a low voice. However, they were not complaining about the bad environment like these two people, after all, schools in Japan were used to such dusty playgrounds. Even elementary school students would run around barefoot on the sandy playground during the sports festival.

The focus of everyone's discussion was still on Hojo Kyosuke. There was no way around it. Sobu High School and Komatsukawa were both trash in the high school baseball world. Some parents of Sobu High School students walked in and said, "I didn't expect this school to have a baseball field!"

"Hojo... can that Hojo-kun really have a ball speed of 160?"

A parent spoke up, a little hesitant about addressing Hojo Kyousuke. Normally, these baseball players in the college world, as the elders, would call them by their first names, or add "Jun" to be more intimate. But Hojo Kyousuke was different. Before he was a baseball player, he was first a great writer, or a literary giant, who enjoyed high praise throughout the country.

Maybe even the commentators of official matches will say, "Oh! Hojo-sensei is on the court!"

"The Daily Sports reported it, so it can't be wrong, right?"

The person next to him replied that these people were willing to come to watch a baseball game in the hot sun on a weekend because they really loved baseball besides looking for a place to drink, so they were familiar with many sports newspapers and magazines.

Although Japanese newspapers are used to exaggerating, often saying things like "King of the East China Sea" or "The Battle of Marineford", they still don't dare to lie about this kind of data, after all, it's easy to be exposed... Well, sometimes they don't dare, but they still have to have some shame. It is worth mentioning that the Tokyo Sports News, which never reports real news and never tells the truth except for the date, also sent a reporter today.

And because of his outstanding performance when reporting on Hojo Kyosuke winning the Neon Mystery Writers Association Award, he was also invited to visit the Sobu High School baseball club's lounge.

The headline of their report at the time was "Should I tell my mom that I won the Nobel Prize at the age of 16?"

"This is incredible! If there really is 160, wouldn't he be the second Shohei Otani?"

Shohei Ohtani, who emerged only two years ago, is now a topic that cannot be avoided in the Japanese baseball world. Whenever this name is mentioned, all Japanese people are proud and regard him as the brightest flower of tomorrow.

Someone retorted, "No way, Otani is a two-sword man, he can hit and throw, and the Nikkan Sports magazine didn't mention Hojo's hitting performance at all."

"Baka, Hojo-sensei has never played a game. Do you want to know how many times he swings the bat every day?"

"Yes, and don't you know? Even the Sword Saint Ninety-nine True Red was easily defeated by Hojo-kun, how could he be bad at striking?"

"Sword Saint? Which sword saint?"

"Who is this? You are such an ignorant fellow, let me teach you a lesson!

"The best high school teacher in kendo", "the miracle maker who won three consecutive national championships", "the youngest eighth-dan swordsman in Japan", "one of the ten strongest kendo practitioners in the world"... Ninety-nine True Red, the man standing at the pinnacle of Japanese kendo!"

The man spoke loudly with his head held high, but his expression changed at the end:

"Ahem, but that's all in the past. Now the strongest man in Neon Kendo has become Hojo-kun! Haven't you heard about it? Last month, the Battle of Marineford broke out with Hokushin Ittoryu. It wasn't just Ninety-nine True Red, there was also..."

The topic soon veered off to an unknown direction, and even the two people who had previously complained about the venue came over. Everyone was drinking and chatting loudly.

In Neon, although kendo as a sport is not as popular and widespread as baseball, it is the most representative of Neon samurai swords after all, so it is also an absolute trump card for small talk.

As soon as they heard that the new Neon Sword Master was going to play baseball, everyone's expectations for this ordinary practice game were raised to the maximum.

Not only the audience, but also the scouts and reporters who were named by Mihara Shozo were chatting quietly. Reporters from sports newspapers and magazines were also part-time scouts. After all, compared with scouts, they could learn more inside information. Why not make a little more money?

"Hey, Imai, the competition is about to start. Are you still hiding it? Don't be so stingy. Tell us, does that Hojo Kyosuke really have 160?"

"Sponichi" reporter Shimada Shun asked the person next to him. Sponichi is "sponichi", which means Japanese sports newspaper. It started out as a sports news outlet, but of course it also reports on entertainment gossip.

After hearing his words, several people from other newspapers nearby also started to make a fuss, clamoring for the Nikkan Sports reporter Iku Imai to share the information.

Imai Iku's face was full of helplessness, but he refused to give in. No matter what his colleagues said, he just answered with "You'll know after the competition."

What could he say? Should he tell these idiots that Hojo Kyosuke's pitch speed was not 160 but 170? Wouldn't that scare you to death?

Two days had passed since I watched Hojo Kyosuke's training, but Imai Yu still felt like he was in a dream. The three bright numbers "171" on the speed gun kept appearing in front of my eyes. What does that mean? The concept of breaking the world record!

Are we still discussing whether Hojo-sensei can hit the ball? Even if he can't hit the ball at all, just based on the number 171, those super teams in America will wave checks to snatch Hojo Kyosuke!

It's not real, it doesn't feel real at all.

Imai Iku looked at the dilapidated baseball field in front of him and felt dizzy. Was the world record in baseball going to be broken in a school that had never even entered Koshien?

He was determined to protect the professional speed gun he brought with him, as it would be the key material for tomorrow's newspaper. The speed guns of his peers were no match for his professionalism.

Seeing that they couldn't get anything out of this guy, the reporters from several other sports newspapers turned their heads away in boredom.

"Hey, Hirota, what about you? Aren't you an entertainment reporter? What news are you trying to steal from us?"

Shimada Shunsho looked at Hirota Yoshitoki, a reporter from Weekly Bunshun.

"Haha, why am I here? Of course I'm here just like you guys. Could it be that you sports reporters wouldn't even let go of a small practice match? Is there enough space in the newspaper to write about it?"

Hirota Yoshitoki chuckled:

"It's me, on the contrary. Don't you know that Hojo-sensei and our Weekly Bunshun are old friends? His first personal interview, his first gossip...were all reported by us! Now, the invincible swordsman and the romantic writer are going to conquer the baseball field, how could I miss it?"

Shimada Shunichi was speechless when he heard this. Yes, in addition to the 160-ball speed reported by the Nikkan Sports, the reason they came to watch this small practice match was entirely because of Hojo Kyosuke. It can be said that with Hojo Kyosuke's current popularity, even his dog urinating and defecating anywhere can become news.

But fortunately, although he is now a complete public figure, there are still many laws to protect his privacy.

Seeing that Hirota Yoshitoki's attitude was okay, other reporters and scouts hurried over to try to get the inside story from him, "an old friend of Hojo Kyosuke."

"Hahaha, well, it's hard for me to say. You'll know after watching the game later, but I can assure you that in the days ahead you will definitely be glad that you watched this game today."

Hirota Yoshitoki said this with a smile, but he was actually cursing in his heart. Although their magazine had reported early on that Hojo Kyosuke was going to bring his talent to the baseball field, they had tentatively criticized him for wasting his time on trivial matters and believed that he should work harder and write more to contribute to the prosperity of the Japanese literary world.

Was it because of this incident that Hojo-sensei didn't come to us but to Nikkan Sports? He was still worried and decided that if Hojo Kyosuke's speed could reach 150, they would make it 170!

As time went by, more and more people gathered on the playground, and a bus drove in from the school gate and slowly came to the side of the baseball field.

Looking at the crowded scene through the car window, the people from Komatsukawa High School were stunned.

"Why...are there so many people here?!"

Coach Xia Ri Da Shu said in amazement.

The driver, Shizuka Hiratsuka, was also shocked by the terrifying flow of people and opened her mouth wide, but she quickly came to her senses, laughed loudly, threw her coat, and said coldly:

"Are you scared? This is the Sobu High School Baseball Stadium, known as the Devil's Home Stadium!"

She was sent to pick up the Komatsukawa baseball club early in the morning, so she didn't see this scene until now. Yes, the Komatsukawa High School baseball club also didn't have its own bus. After all, it was a rookie team that was only slightly better than Sobu High School. In addition, Coach Mihara wanted to show off his luxury bus, so he simply offered to pick them up.

As for why Shizuka Hiratsuka became a driver, well... a reliable young teacher is like this, he will find a way to bury a hole wherever there is one.

"Clap!"

Komatsukawa's coach, Natsuhi Daiki, slapped his face to attract the members' attention, and then shouted:

"Alright, cheer up! Today we must defeat Sobu High School just as cleanly as we did last year!"

What the hell is one hundred and sixty? He can’t do that. Where are there so many Shohei Ohtani? A weak team like Sobu High School should just go to hell!

He felt his blood boiling as he looked at this grand scene. They had never had the chance to go to Koshien, and had not even been to Jingu Stadium, but today's event was not bad at all!

Let’s just think of this as our Koshien!

The coach's words woke up the doubtful members. Thinking of the funny performance of Sobu High School last year, they all smiled and became confident.

"Kill them!" (End of this chapter)