Swinging for the Fences 2

*pant* *pant* Four...teen!

Come on, Rei. Just a little bit more.

Just one more. One more, and you've cleared this set!

*pant* Hold it for three, two, one...

...That makes fifteen!

Very good!

One more!

Wait a second! I thought you said that was the last one!

Why is there still one left?

You say you're tired, but I know you've still got one more in you.

Today's pain is what leads to tomorrow's gains.

Imagine the amazing tone and definition you'll have tomorrow. It's just beyond this last burpee!

You said that earlier!

Now that I think about it, you even snuck an extra set...

I...give up...

All right. Break time!

Let's hydrate then move on to the next exercise before your muscles cool down!

Phew...

By the way, these exercises are supposed to help with baseball, right?

It feels like I'm working my thighs and calves rather than my arms and shoulders...

Don't worry. Burpees are meant to train your whole body. Arms, legs, even your core muscles that keep you upright.

You can build muscles and even enhance your cardiorespiratory endurance, all through burpees alone!

Especially for someone like you, who hasn't done a whole lot of fitness, stimulating the entire body is more effective than focusing on a few arbitrary body parts.

But...

I'm trying to be a home run queen not a bodybuilder.

There are famous sluggers who focused only on their arm muscles. They may have had more cardio endurance than the average person...but they didn't need it!

...Rei.

Why do you want to hit a home run so badly?

Because it's cool! Obviously...

A home run is like the gilded lily of a baseball game, don't you think?

Most ordinary hits never lead to a single point. But with a single swing, you can turn the tables of an entire game...

It's only natural for a batter to yearn for a home run.

I've been thinking about them ever since I decided to join the baseball club.

I know that one day, I will hit a radiant home run that leads my team to victory!

When was the last time you saw someone land a home run?

I think it was at the public baseball field. I went with my friends at the end of last year's season.

I could never forget the beautiful arc the ball drew over the fences.

Thanks to that swing, the home team was able to take back a game they were losing badly and emerge victorious...

...Wait. Were you rooting for the home team, or the away team?

(It was... Wait, which team was it?!)

(I remember the field, I remember the final score. But everything else is fuzzy...)

(There was that shooting star of a home run. What happened during the rest of the game, Rei?!)

...How about we call it a day.

Right. Thank you for your help today.

By the way... Is there a baseball game tonight, Rei?

Mmm. There's no regular season games on Mondays. But there is a minor league game playing on the outskirts of Gehenna.

Let's go watch a game then!

Huh? Right now?!

We have a lot of extra time from cutting the training schedule short.

So how about we make up for it with a field trip!

Up for a brisk jog to the Gehenna district?

From here?! On foot?! We'll never make it in time!