NOVEL NEXT Kataoka’s Decision
Rei went to Kataoka's office after an hour as he was told.
*knock**knock*
Rei knocked on Kataoka's office door.
"Come in", said Kataoka as he heard the knock on the door.
Rei entered the office feeling unusually nervous.
He didn't know why but whenever he was in Kataoka's presence he felt pressured for some reason.
Kataoka gestured for Rei to sit down in the seat in front of him.
"I don't like wasting time so let's cut to the chase. You know your skills and yet for some reason, you are applying to be on the 2nd string. It's been a while since a saw something this ridiculous", said Kataoka.
Rei stayed silent in response, so he continued.
"There should be a reason why you have not gotten a baseball scholarship", said Kataoka seriously.
"I haven't been on a baseball team ever before", said Rei answering Kataoka's question.
Rei's response surprised Kataoka but his expression remained the same.
"Then how did you learn baseball?", questioned Kataoka curiously.
"I am self-taught", said Rei. He knew he had to make a story to back himself up. So, he came up with this idea.
Rei's response made Kataoka widen his eyes in surprise. But his reaction was hidden since he was wearing his shades.
Rei thought something was wrong with the coach because he didn't reply to him for a while.
"Seems like I have to re-evaluate him", thought Kataoka.
Thinking for a while, he came to a decision. He thought that this decision would benefit the team greatly.
"Don't be arrogant with the skills you have, there are many people who are above you", said Kataoka.
Rei nodded and Kataoka could sense that the kid didn't have an ounce of arrogance in his eyes.
"Moving on to the topic, I want you to join the 1st string team. There were 3 openings in the team before but recently a 3rd year got injured and had to move to the 2nd string so that's why there's another opening available", said Kataoka seriously.
Some people might think that Kataoka was being hasty by putting Rei in the 1st string. But which coach could resist such a good player?
Rei could pitch around 140 KM this speed is high even for 1st string members then shouldn't he surround himself with more competition so he can grow even more?
Rei nodded seriously accepting Kataoka's request. But in his mind, he was screaming in joy seeing the system notification in front of him and getting this offer.
He never thought that he would be offered something like this, he thought that he would have to work his way up.
Because in the anime there were only 3 openings but somehow there were 4 openings now. Maybe him being here changed something.
He shrugged thinking it was useless to think about such stuff.
"Good you will be a great addition to the current team", said Kataoka happily.
They both shook hands with each other in celebration.
"You can meet the team in the next week because school is officially starting then and You should also move to the dorm because we will be training every morning and I don't want you to be late even a second", said Kataoka seriously and went back to his work in his office.
Rei left the office after bowing toward Kataoka.
Looking at Rei's back Kataoka thought, "He's an unpolished gem. His potential is high. He might turn out to be better than any pitcher that has ever been on Seido's baseball team".
Rei smirked standing outside Kataoka's office and started laughing, "Hahahaha…. I can't believe this is happening. Isn't everything moving too fast".
"Go celebrate somewhere else", yelled Kataoka from his office. He could hear Rei's laugh in the office.
"HAIII", yelled Rei subconsciously and ran towards the exit of the school.
His mom was going to be there anytime now since it was almost 4 in the afternoon.
Arriving at the exit he saw his mom and entered her car.
"How was the test? You have no idea how nervous your father and I were because of you. So, bad news or good news", asked Chiaki while driving.
"I have bad news and good news. What do you want to hear first", said Rei playfully.
"Just go with the good news first. I'm already nervous as it is", said Chiaki.
Rei nodded and told his mother about everything that happened during the test. He even told her about how the coach offered him a place on the 1st string team.
When Chiaki heard this, she couldn't help but yell in joy while she was driving. She was happy for her son, and she was proud of him. She didn't expect her son to be this good. She was aware of the players on the 1st string they were on a whole new level.
"What about the bad news?", asked Chiaki.
"Oh, yeah…The coach recommended I live in the dorm that the school provides for baseball players. I mean I love my room at my own house but I kind of don't want to miss this chance. This is bad news because I thought you might not really like this", said Rei nervously. He wanted his mom to approve of him going to the dorm.
As soon as Chiaki heard about the dorm she pulled over and nagged at Rei telling him about the bad things that could happen in a dorm.
Rei just listened quietly not interrupting his mom while she was nagging.
After Chiaki got everything out, she said, "Haaa…. I guess I can't hold you back. Even though I don't like it I don't want you to hate me after all".
Rei smiled; he was happy that his mother agreed for him to go. Even if she didn't, he would have left the house sneakily, but he thought it was better to ask his mom.
They arrived home after some minutes.
When Rei's family got to know about him getting into the 1st string, they all congratulated him.
"Hahaha…. he's my grandson after all", said grandpa while laughing.
"It's because he has my genes", said Reiji seriously.
Because of Reiji's comment, Chiaki started arguing with him.
Personally, Rei was totally on his mom's side in this matter. He doesn't know why his father always brings up the topic of genetics.
During their dinner, Rei told them about the dorm situation, and they agreed to it quickly which made it seem like they didn't care.
Anyways after their celebration, Rei went back to his room.
Before Rei could sleep, he decided to check the notification he had gotten during the talk with the coach.
[Mission 'Seido High School', successfully completed]
[Would you like to claim your Reward?]
"Yes", said Rei in anticipation.
[Host has exceeded the mission requirements]
[Recalculating Reward….]
['A level up' and 'a System Shop' has been rewarded]
Rei smirked seeing the notifications.
"Well, this is unexpected", thought Rei.
He wanted to check his progress since he has gotten a level up as a reward and tried opening his status, but he couldn't.
[System offline…]
[System upgrading….]
Seeing the notifications, he shrugged and fell asleep.