Rei Bond story episode 1

Momotalk

R: Good morning Sensei!
R: This is Nomasa Rei from Millennium Science School's baseball team!
S: It's good to see you Rei.
S: How's it been?
R: I've been zeroing in on getting a home run.
R: So I'll be practicing more batting soon enough.
R: Oh, speaking of which.
R: Wanna come watch?
R: The practice field's for public use, there shouldn't be any problems.

I headed over to Millennium's baseball field

R: Ah! So you came after all. Good to see you here.
S: High five!/Yay!
R: Y-yay! A high five really gets you in the mood!
R: ...Alright. Now then, you just keep your eyes peeled.
R: I'll be putting some backbone into today's practice!

And thus, Rei strode over to the batter's box in high spirits...

Practice Robot: That's three strikes! Out!
R: It's as you'd expect from a Millennium machine... it's something else...
R: But, I'll definitely get it next time...!

Rei waits for the ball

R: ...Gotcha!
Practice Robot: That's a center fly. Out.
Practice Robot: The angle of the ball was too high when you hit it.
R: Sigh...

She tries again

Practice Robot: Ground ball.
R: ugh...!

Again

Practice Robot: Infield fly.
R: N-not done yet!

Again

Practice Robot: That's three strikes. Out!
R: Oh...!

Practice finishes

R: That was good work I guess...
R: Sigh... no luck today either I guess.
R: Why is it that whenever I think I've got it, it's always a fly or grounder?
R: Well, at least there weren't any no hitters. I guess that's good enough...
S: Any idea why it's not working?
R: ...
R: Actually, yeah.
S: Wait, really?
R: it's all got to do with the timing.
R: Batting is all about how well you can time your swing. The pitcher's job is to do everything they can to trip you up.
R: ...Wait. Wasn't it the other way around?
R: Either way, whatever ball you use, the point is to time your strike.
R: You gotta figure that out, THEN you swing the bat...
R: But it's so darned hard! You gotta discern the type of pitch, whether it's a straight ball or a curve...
R: Even if my eyes catch it, my body certainly can't.
S: If you're problem's the timing.../Maybe I can help with that.
R: Seriously!? Yes please!
R: Up until now, no one had any clue on what sort of training method to use...
R: It's not a new training method? It's about a change in mentality? You're asking me to trust my instincts?
R: Well, sure I guess... but let's not go too far!
R: At least tell me where we're going!

Arcade

R: This is... an arcade!?
R: No matter how you spin it, you ain't getting much baseball training done here.
S: If it's your timing you want to train, go for rhythm games!
R: Rhythm games... sorry, I don't exactly know what that is...?
R: I'll get it once I play it?
R: Can't hurt to give it a try I guess... let's do this!

With a curious Rei, I walked to the rhythm games corner.
But at that time, I was complete unaware of the phenomenon that would summon itself before my eyes.

R: So you press the button at the right timing to match the falling bar...
R: I see, it does seem relevant after all,
R: Eh? There's games where you can try out your rhythm with drums, guitar too...
R: Guess what makes a [rhythm game]'s more broad than I thought.
R: There's a bit too much variety... alright, I'll just go with the one you chose!

Rei turns to the machine, and starts up the tutorial.
And after a brief moment...

R: Press and hold these notes... this part's easy... don't forget the slides...
Gamer A: Hey, look at her go!
Gamer B: Oh damn, ain't that the new level 12 song? She's hitting the notes like their nothing...
Gamer A: Her fingers don't look that well trained... is she doing this all by reflex...!?
R: The rhythm goes bonkers here... but no problem! I got past the rapid fire pattern!

FC

R: There we go! Look Sensei! Full combo... eh?

Cheer.sfx

R: W-what's with the crowd?
S: Well Rei. Congratulations!/You got number one on the leaderboard!
R: Number 1...?
R: But all I did was just time my presses...
Impressed gamer: JUST timed your presses!?
Surprised gamer: I have seen people with talent for rhythm, but to think it can go this far...
Impressed gamer: Maybe she could even try her luck against [UZQueen]!
Surprised gamer: Her name's Rei right? How about... [Rei Queen]. That's a good name isn't it?
R: Eh, ehh???
Timid gamer: Ah, excuse me, would you care for a photo?
R: Eh!? But I'm not exactly a pro at this, and I'm more of a baseball person, not a gamer!
R: I-if I breached some game rule or whatever, I'm sorry about that...
R: I-i'll be heading off now...!

Park

R: Haa... haa... haa...
S: Haa... haa... haa.../Baseballers... really are... fast!
R: Eh!? Sensei!? Oh crap, sorry for running on my own there!
R: And in terms of baseballers, I'm not exactly the fastest...
R: But seriously, that crowd was a surprise.
R: To think there'd be so many people all of a sudden, sure caught me.
S: Sorry Rei, that's kinda my fault.
R: Oh no! It's nothing wrong on your part.
R: You taught me how to play rhythm games.
R: Me running out was just my nerves getting the better of me.
R: Besides.
R: The reason I ran wasn't cuz I was scared or anything, the [battlefield] was just too different.
R: Maybe I'm just exaggerating, but...
R: Playing baseball, is like a warzone for me!
R: For those who bring their A game, such places go from games stations to [Arenas]
R: Which is why I thought it was a bit rude for a newbie like me to suddenly slide in to the [Arena] of a rhythm game.
R: Umm... that sounded weird, didn't it.
S: oh, not at alll./Your battlefield is that of baseball after all.
R: If it made sense... then I'm glad!
R: Thanks for the help today. I think I've upped my rhythm game thanks to you!
R: With this, I might be able to get my [timing] down pat.
R: I'll definitely ace the next practice match! Just you watch!

Rey stepped into the batter's box. The score this time was absolutely incredible.
An absolutely incredible loss, that is.

R: Oh come on-!?!?!?!?

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Pub: 28 Mar 2025 15:46 UTC
Views: 36