"Hey, you must be Yusuke. My name is Ken, nice to meet you." Ken stretched out his hand in greeting.
Yusuke looked at the extended hand and moved his gaze to Ken, looking him up and down. Originally his eyes were dull, almost as if looking down on him.
However, the once dull and listless eyes lit up a moment later.
"Likewise." Yusuke grasped Ken's hand in a tight grip, showing tremendous strength despite his unassuming physique.
Ken couldn't help but smile as he felt the pressure of the handshake which seemed to be a test. Thanks to his A- rated strength he was able to withstand the pressure quite easily.
A hint of respect flashed within Yusuke's eyes before he eventually eased up and took back his hand. Ken didn't say anything else, grabbing his uniform and heading off to get changed.
But inwardly he was pleased. Already their interaction was wildly different from his previous life. Despite being a sought after pitcher, Yusuke had scoffed at him, not taking him seriously at all.
In his youthful mindset he took great offense to this, starting off their relationship on a bad note. However, Ken was now mature enough to move past such things. What use was a petty grudge when he wanted to win at nationals?
It was quite odd though when he thought about it. Why was Yusuke's reaction so different this time around? Could he sense that Ken was different?
Did he have some sort of instinctual ability to tell how talented someone was? Kind of like Ken had his identify function.
'Ah, I almost forgot.' As his mind moved to these thoughts, he quickly activated his Identify ability in order to record Yusuke's stats.
TO USE IDENTIFY ON THIS TARGET WILL COST 50 MAJOR POINTS DUE TO THE DISPARITY IN ABILITIES. WOULD YOU LIKE TO CONTINUE?
[YES/NO]
Ken's eyebrow raised in response to the text that appeared in front of him. This had only happened when he tried to use Identify on Daichi. Did that mean Yusuke was a monster like his brother too?
'Nothing ventured, nothing gained.' Ken mused inwardly before accepting.
NAME: Yusuke Ozawa
AGE: 15
TALENT ASSESSMENT: B (A)
POTENTIAL: SS+
USER STATS:
>Physical Fitness: C+ (A+)
>Pitching: C+
>Fielding: A
>Game Intelligence: A
>Mental: A+
Note: Grades in brackets are before status modifiers.
Additional information: Currently has a tumor in his left knee leading to inflammation and soreness. The tumor is in a dormant state, but continued stress could cause it to expand.
YUSUKE OZAWA'S DATA HAS BEEN ADDED TO THE COMPENDIUM.
Ken sucked in a cold breath of air, his face turning pale as he read on. Out of habit, he clutched his right shoulder, rubbing it gently as he often did when he was anxious.
What the hell was this?
Was this the reason why Yusuke never stepped onto the field as a professional?
Usually teams would do a full medical examination before signing players and allowing them to play. Could it be that the doctors located the tumor and decided not to sign him?
More importantly, why did the system know this information?
"Ken what's wrong? Is your shoulder hurting?" Shiro asked with a whisper.
From his vantage point, he saw Ken suddenly turn pale and cradle his shoulder so he immediately thought about his injury.
"I-It's nothing." Ken said, feeling his mind race in response to the new information.
What was he to do with such information? It's not like he could just walk up to him and say it directly, there's no way he would be taken seriously.
Ken suddenly felt the immense pressure of someones life hanging over his head. If the tumor was malignant there was a large possibility that it could endanger Yusuke's life, not just his career.
"Hurry up you lot! We're burning daylight."
Coach Hanada's voice sang out from the field, snapping Ken out of his reverie. He quickly got changed and headed out onto the field, now joined by another bunch of players in addition to the first years.
"Alright, first years these are the 2nd string players who are the closest to be called up to the starting team. Today we'll be running some drills so I can get a good assessment of you all." His eyes moved across all of the players in front of him, evaluating.
"Now, run lets run laps around the field in a line at a steady pace. When I blow my whistle once, you'll need to increase your pace. If I blow two times I want the person at the back to sprint to the front of the pack."
The first year students in front of him didn't have much of a reaction upon hearing the exercise, however the second years had a wry smile on their faces. They knew just how punishing the run was going to be and looked forward to the first years failing.
Ken on the other hand had managed to switch gears fast. Perhaps it was because of his mental ability increasing lately, but when it came time to perform he was able to push any worries aside.
"Let's go!" Coach Hanada blew the whistle prompting the students to begin the drill.
The second year students waved Ken and the other first year students to the front of the pack, lining up behind them as they started their runs. Ken of course knew that by running at the front he would be the last to sprint, however he was confident enough in his abilities to do so.
Both Shiro and Yusuke took positions right behind him as they began to jog around the field at a leisurely pace, followed by the 20 or so others.
FWHEEE
Ken heard the whistle and began to pick up the pace.
FWHEE FWHEE
Just like that, one of the second year students who was at the back of the pack ran leisurely on the outside and took up position in front of Ken, now becoming the front runner.
Another whistle sounded, resulting them in picking up the pace once again. While the others may be finding the exercise easy right now, Ken knew that they would start dropping like flies soon enough.