running boy

The nurse brought lunch.

Takashi Abe also closed the monthly baseball magazine he was reading with gusto without hesitation, and decisively threw the magazine aside, declaring loudly, "It looks so delicious! I'm starting it!", and then concentrated on eating.

After eating for a while, I felt that something was wrong.

He looked up at the doctor who was standing beside his bed. Instead of leaving with the nurse, she watched him eat with a dazed expression.

Although standing in front of him, it seems to be far away from him.

The summer wind is a bit stuffy, but Abe still leaves the windows of his ward open, because an occasional gust of wind will blow away the smell of disinfectant in the hospital and bring in a fresh breath of summer wood.

From time to time, the curtains that were slightly blown made an inaudible sound, submerged in the irritating chorus of cicadas.

But he still kept the window open, because the noise outside made him feel a little angry, and when the room was quiet, he felt trapped in a cage.

In the summer of the second grade, when it was the season, Abe was trapped in the ward.

It's the second time he's been injured, and he's not as depressed as the first time. He's actually quite positive and optimistic, and he feels a little familiar in controlling his depressed and depressed emotions. I don't know if it's "practice makes perfect" or the result of mental training—— He laughed at himself inwardly.

Abe is not a person with a very delicate mind, nor does he have the habit of frequently reviewing the past, but when he was doing nothing in the ward, he also felt that he had changed a lot in his wild thoughts. At the beginning, when he first met Mitsuhashi, his thoughts and attitudes were different from those now. It's so different, for example, the self-righteous matchmaking now seems a bit naive...

Small changes and growth continue this summer.

Then, on top of that, he met a doctor who was a little strange.

……

Looking at the doctor who was staring at him while eating with some sadness, Abe hesitated, "That...doctor, what's the matter?"

Tsukishima Kaoru came back to his senses.

Just now, the boy put aside the book he was reading with great interest and concentrated on eating, which instantly reminded him of some distant past events and a distant person.

Realizing that she had lost her composure, she smiled and was about to leave when she saw the baseball magazine thrown aside by the boy casually spread out. The exaggerated title on it made her comment quickly, "Ishikawa ? You can’t even call it a genius.”

"Indeed, there is nothing more than brute force."

"After all, he is a newcomer, and his technology is still very immature, and it is too unstable."

"That's right, this kind of instability is more risky than strength."

The two of them suddenly did not violate the harmony, and they exchanged back and forth, and after a few words, both of them were stunned.

"Doctor, do you like high school baseball?" Abe asked.

Tsukishima Kaoru suddenly felt a little emotional.

High school baseball is treated differently than high school volleyball.

After discovering his eccentricity of liking to watch high school games, Tsukishima watched the most high school baseball, because high school baseball was completely beyond the scope of other high school students' games. There are plenty of adults around, it won't be conspicuous or weird.

So Abe can naturally ask you if you like high school baseball, because that is a very common thing.

(So, Abe-san is...)

I have read a lot of game reports, and Yue Dao has also heard about local and some strong teams from other places.

She suddenly realized, "Abe-san, you are from Xipu!"

"Yes." Abe replied, very reserved, but couldn't hide his pride.

"Speaking of which, today is..." Yue Dao stopped in the middle of speaking.

But it seems a little late.

Today is XJTLU's summer preliminaries.

Half of the participating teams will be eliminated in the summer preliminaries.It stands to reason that with the strength of the XJTLU seed team, there is really no need to worry about the preliminaries, but the summer preliminaries are often unpredictable. In their first grade, they also eliminated the former champion team as a dark horse.

It was hard for Abe not to think about it, but when he heard someone mention Nishiura's game, his face suddenly collapsed again, and then turned into a helpless wry smile.

(Originally, I was full of confidence in this year's impact on Koshien, but I didn't expect that I would hold back my teammates.)

In the ward, what Abe thinks about the most is the game.

How is the newly selected first grader cooperating with everyone?How is Hanai doing?How is the cooperation between Tajima and Mitsuhashi who replaced him?And has the distraction of being a catcher affected his batting average?

And Mihashi himself, this reassuring and unreliable pitcher, is he okay when he is not around?

Whenever this happened, Abe began to recall all the positive thinking training he had done, and kept reminding himself that Miyashi was no longer the guy he met back then who couldn't look people in the eye and spoke incoherently. You can positively affirm yourself—well, that’s right.Besides, when he didn't go through any training, Miyashi also held up when he was injured in the game. Now that he was injured before the game, even if he was a little flustered at the beginning, he must have adjusted quickly, and it should be no problem. Already... huh?

After all, the supervisor also said that there is no need to worry about Sanqiao's state!

Maybe Mitsuhashi is not the former Mihashi, but Abe's worry about Mihashi seems to have become a kind of inertia.

Tsukishima looked at Abe's uncertain face, and suddenly remembered that when he came to see a doctor with an injury...

"Doctor, how long will it take to recover?"

"To the extent that it is barely usable?"

"Is it bad for the recovery later..."

That was right before the season started.

The struggling and hesitant look on the boy's face reminded her of the many "fools" she had seen on the volleyball court.

(He is very concerned about the game, and he is very worried about what happens if he is not with his teammates.)

(This topic really shouldn't be brought up.)

Tsukishima cleared his throat and asked, "Abe-san, you can go home to recuperate from your injury, right?"

Abe raised his head in a daze, then nodded.

(You are the doctor, you don't know the best.)

"But you chose to be hospitalized, why?"

In order to have professional nursing care, doctors often check the recovery level, in order to save the risk of re-injury caused by going to the hospital for re-examination from home - in short, "for a safer and faster recovery."

After speaking, Abe saw Dr. Tsukishima look at the dinner plate suggestively.

"This is a nutritious meal specially designed for you to help you recover as soon as possible."

"Abe-san, it's better to concentrate on eating."

Abe came back from his previous thoughts.

(If you didn't bring up this topic suddenly, I wouldn't be anxious... I really can't eat it now...)

Abe couldn't help but think a little complaining.

(But she's right...)

(It is a rule in our team to concentrate on enjoying while eating.)

Abe's expression calmed down.

(And, I want to recover ASAP!)

(It's useless to think or worry about anything now.)

(What I can do, what I should do best, is to try to recover.)

Abe closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then exhaled slowly, as if getting rid of his irritability.

This is the mental training I have done before, but I didn't expect it to be used here.

When he opened his eyes again, he started again in a state of no other distractions, and the not-so-elegant eating looks were full of momentum as if he was fighting.

Tsukishima said his farewell softly, and then gently exited the ward.

After exiting the ward, she stood at the door without moving.

"Eating while looking at things will be distracting and affect digestion. It is better to concentrate on eating."

There seemed to be a low voice ringing in my ears.

Someone had said this to her time and time again.