Diamond No Ace: The Monster

Chapter 122: A Girlfriend Will Only Slow Down My Pitching Speed!

When Furuya went to the cafeteria, he ran into his second-year senior, Kuramochi.

Before Furuya even had a chance to greet him, Kuramochi rushed up and threw an arm around his neck.

"I heard you've got yourself a girlfriend?"

For some reason, Furuya thought Kuramochi's voice sounded a little... different.

"Senpai, do you have a cold?"

"No!"

Kuramochi replied instinctively.

"You idiot, who asked you that? I meant, did you really get a girlfriend?"

"Strictly speaking, she's not exactly my girlfriend—just someone I'm dating."

Deep down, Furuya is a very serious person. Officially calling someone his girlfriend involves responsibility. Dating is a bit different; it's just two people getting to know each other with mutual interest.

"Do you realize what stage our team is at right now? Just because we won the Kanto Tournament doesn't mean we're done! We've got grueling training ahead. Do you really have time for a girlfriend? Spending time together, shopping, birthdays, Valentine's Day..."

Hearing Furuya's confirmation, Kuramochi seemed to ignite. He rattled off a list of activities in rapid fire.

"Is having a girlfriend really that much of a hassle?"

Furuya was genuinely bewildered.

Even though he's just a student and doesn't have a job, it doesn't mean he has a lot of free time. In fact, students have a tough schedule—aside from weekends, they're always in school. There are numerous classes during the day, followed by homework.

As one of Seidou High's baseball team's core players and the current ace-in-training, Furuya has a lot of expectations riding on him from the team coach. Ordinary students already have a hard time at school, but for the baseball team, it's even tougher.

They train during school breaks and, even after regular practice, they put in extra training thanks to the influence of their third-year seniors.

Since winning the Kanto Tournament, every Seidou player seems to be possessed by a single goal: to make it to Koshien and dominate the national stage.

Having a girlfriend right now comes with a lot of risks for Furuya.

"It's probably fine, as long as I explain it well to her..."

Furuya attempted to defend himself.

"A girl who stays single before dating will still be alone if her boyfriend can't be there for her. Then what's the point of dating at all?"

Kuramochi asked with a frustrated look, as if he couldn't believe Furuya didn't understand.

"Besides, any girl who'd boldly confess to you must have an outgoing personality. Do you think she can tolerate loneliness? Even if she can, someone else might come along to steal her heart…"

When it comes to relationships, Kuramochi suddenly turned into an expert, making Furuya wonder if his senior had any regrettable experiences in the past.

"Senpai, you haven't... been dumped before, have you?"

To Furuya, it seemed like it'd be hard to have such keen insights without firsthand experience.

"You're driving me nuts!"

Furuya's comment hit Kuramochi's sore spot right on the mark.

Despite how polished his teammates may appear, most of them actually have a fair amount of experience in relationships.

Several of them have even had girlfriends before.

Even that infuriating Sawamura, who seems so clueless, has a childhood friend by his side.

And then there's Kuramochi.

Back in middle school, he was always hanging out with a bunch of rowdy friends; aside from playing baseball, they spent most of their time picking fights. Those were carefree, reckless days.

It wasn't until Kuramochi had a change of heart that he realized how much time he had wasted.

He hadn't taken the time to properly hone his baseball skills or experience a sweet, first love.

After entering Seidou High, he, like everyone else on the team, devoted himself entirely to baseball.

He may have felt a twinge of romantic curiosity, but he truly didn't have the time.

Of course, if someone were to confess to him publicly and happened to catch his eye, Kuramochi wouldn't mind.

But unfortunately, the girl of his dreams has yet to appear in his life.

So, Kuramochi continues to live his single life, and his feelings toward Furuya are purely out of jealousy—a jealousy that has turned his usually cool-headed senior into someone unrecognizable.

And he's not the only one.

Thanks to Sawamura's big mouth, nearly everyone on Seidou's baseball team found out about Furuya's new relationship.

Several of the upperclassmen came over with curious faces, asking about the girl's looks, grades, and personality.

Some even asked Furuya directly for a photo.

"We're not officially dating, so I don't have any photos," Furuya replied helplessly.

Truthfully, in both this life and his past, he had never truly dated anyone before.

As for how to navigate a relationship? He only knew a bit from what he'd read online.

In the face of his seniors' prying questions, Furuya couldn't think of a single answer.

But this wasn't even the worst of it.

There were many players on the team who had been in relationships before.

However, as Kuramochi pointed out, due to their lack of time together, very few of these relationships lasted.

To put it bluntly, the baseball team was practically a monk's sanctuary.

So, when someone finally did get a girlfriend, it was only natural that everyone would swarm to gossip like cats drawn to fish.

Their level of enthusiasm far exceeded Furuya's expectations, but it still didn't faze him.

Then came practice. Coach Kataoka called Furuya out in front of the entire team.

"I hear you've got a girlfriend?"

"No!"

Furuya shook his head firmly.

"As a young player, you need to learn self-discipline. Don't do things you shouldn't be doing."

Even though Furuya denied it, Coach Kataoka gave him a stern reminder, clearly unconvinced by Furuya's response.

"Coach, a girlfriend would only slow down my pitching. I'm not getting a girlfriend!" Furuya replied, not entirely sure he believed it himself.

Time flew by, and a week after the Kanto Tournament, Seidou's first-string team welcomed two new players.

One was Koichiro Tanba, who had recovered from his injury.

The other was a half-Japanese player named Takigawa Chris Yuu.

With their addition, Seidou's baseball team began the final battle.

For the jersey numbers!

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