The Old Baseball Player System

Chapter 180 Awards Ceremony

"Shoto's become quite a tough opponent, huh? It won't be easy if we end up facing them in the Kanto tournament." - A boy with a fake mustache on his face remarked. This was Kohei Sasaki, the ace of Hokuto Junior High School, and he seemed pretty interested in Shoto's team, especially in Shun, after seeing the boy's perfect game.

"Hmph! Let's go!" - Sugawara, Hokuto's catcher, huffed as he stroked his long, fake white beard. He didn't seem interested in watching the awards ceremony at all.

"Alright..." - Kohei sighed as he looked at his irritated friend. For some reason, Sugawara always acted like this after seeing Shoto win, yet he always insisted on watching Shoto's games. Luckily, Kohei knew his friend was a bit of a weirdo, otherwise, he would have started losing his mind from interacting with Sugawara.

The two friends got up and started walking toward the exit, but before they reached the stairs by the dugout, they heard a child's voice calling.

"Santa, wait!" - A little boy, around four years old, yelled as he ran toward Sugawara.

"Huh?" - Sugawara looked shocked as he saw the child running toward him. Then he noticed a woman running after the boy, probably his mother.

"I'm sorry, but could you take a picture with my son?" - The woman managed to grab the boy before he could jump on "Santa" and hug him, but as she asked her question, Sugawara's confusion only grew.

Experience tales at empire

"Pft! Of course, he'd love to." - Seeing his friend frozen, unsure of what to do, Kohei couldn't hold back a chuckle and went on to tease him further.

"Thank you!" - The woman expressed her gratitude, and without wasting any time, the little boy ran up and hugged "Santa." Sugawara remained paralyzed as the woman took a picture of him with the boy. After the photo, both thanked him and left, but it took a few seconds before Sugawara could say anything.

"I-I... What just happened?" - Sugawara asked Kohei, looking confused, still not fully understanding what had just taken place. But, unfortunately for him, Kohei couldn't hold back any longer.

Shun watched Imai's back, a bit surprised by his words, but he could feel the hopes Imai had placed on him. Shun clenched his fist tightly, a determined look in his eyes as he looked at the number 1 on Imai's back.

'I won't lose!' - Shun repeated those words with determination in his mind.

---

The Shoto players had to wait a bit longer in the dugout while a small stage was set up on the field. Shun noticed Seishin's players arriving on the field from the other dugout now that Kasuga's players had left.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, it's an honor to speak with you all! I'd like to ask everyone to stand and welcome the two winning teams that will represent Tokyo in the Kanto middle school tournament!" - A man in a suit spoke into a microphone, and the remaining crowd in the stands stood up, applauding.

The Seishin and Shoto teams emerged from their dugouts, forming two lines in front of the stage. Shun carefully observed the Seishin players. He hadn't paid much attention to their game today, but he knew they would be tough opponents if they met in the Kanto tournament. Fortunately, Shimizu had recorded the entire game, and Shun would definitely study them as much as he could over the coming week.

"Now, please step up to the stage to receive your medals, the winners of the first bracket in the Tokyo tournament, Seishin Junior High School!"

A round of applause echoed through the stadium as Seishin's players climbed onto the stage one by one, receiving their medals and greetings from the tournament representatives and a few notable figures on stage.

Shun watched eagerly as the Seishin players received their medals, barely able to wait for his own turn to step up. While Shun knew this wasn't the ultimate prize he wanted, it had been a long time since he'd received a medal for baseball, and he couldn't deny that he'd love to wear one around his neck.

After all the Seishin players returned to their line, the man in the suit quickly spoke into the microphone again.

"And now, please come to the stage to receive your medals, the winners of the second bracket in the Tokyo tournament, Shoto Junior High School!"