Chapter Text
ARC 1: I’ll Take This Team To Koshien!
Chapter 1: Impossible Situations Remain Unexplained!
PART I: FIRST WEEK OF APRIL
“Sir, he’s not a member of the team.”
“What do you mean?”
“They haven’t approved of him joining the team, so right now he’s just an observer. So please don’t group him with us.”
“DON’T SAY I’M PATHETIC OR ANYTHING!! I’LL BE THE GUY THAT WEARS THE BASEBALL TEAM’S ACE NUMBER! LOOK CLOSELY!”
“Heh. The Ace? Watch out, it’s already ending for you.”
(Excerpt CH.7 Diamond no Ace – ACT I)
Eijun woke up to find himself in a familiar but unexpected situation.
He had, once again, fallen asleep in the middle of Maths class. Only instead of waking up in his second-year classroom before lunch, he found himself being shaken awake by Kanemaru.
“Oi, wake up or you’re gonna be late for practice.” Scowling, Kanemaru looked down at the teen still lying across his desk in front of him. He had been on his way out of the classroom before noticing Sawamura was still at his desk, still seemingly dead to the world. Despite his harsh words during class earlier, his conscience hadn’t allowed him to leave the Ace wanna-be alone.
Eijun blinked, looking up at the other baseball player, confused. ‘Had he slept through the whole day? Why was he only being woken up now?’
“Ehh! But what about lunch? Kanemaruuu why didn’t you wake me up sooner!”
“Lunch?” Kanemaru looked confused for a moment before deciding to brush it off as an oddity of Sawamura’s. “You’re lucky I even bothered to wake you up, and don’t be so casual with me when all you’ll be doing is observing us at practice.” Turning he made his way to the door of the almost empty classroom.
“Heh! What the heck do you mean observing! I’m the Ace!” Eijun jumped up and scrambled to gather his things together to catch up to the third baseman.
Pausing at the door, Kanemaru turned back to face the other teen, “You? The Ace? Are you delusional?” The scowl on the blonde’s face deepened, “I should’ve just left you sleeping.” He scoffed before making his way out of sight.
Eijun stopped in his tracks, eyes wide and confused anger bubbling underneath his skin. A frown marred his face and, despite trying not to be, he was hurt by his teammate’s words.
He could admit that he hadn’t been able to pitch how he’d wanted to in the opening game against Yura Sougou. The weight of the number on his back, the nerves and lack of sleep had resulted in his failure to show the best of his pitching ability.
But had he done so badly that Kanemaru no longer recognised him as the Ace? Had Furuya’s pitching against Hachiya Ouji made the team wish he was chosen as Ace this Summer instead of him? What had happened?
The game against Norikane was tomorrow and he’d resolved to show everyone his best but what was up with Kanemaru? He hadn’t been this distant with him this morning, actually, he hadn’t been this distant with him since first year--
His thoughts stopped as his eyes caught up with his overworking brain.
This room...
... is not my classroom.
PART II: START OF APRIL
Eijun soldiered ahead one step at a time, circling the start point for his seventh lap of the field.
‘So, I’m not the Ace, I’m not allowed to join practice and technically I’m not even a pitcher anymore.’
‘What I am is a first year.’
‘But how?’
‘How is this even possible?’
‘Isn’t time travel supposed to be impossible?’
His thoughts felt jumbled, and this entire situation was making his head hurt. Back to being a first year. It shouldn’t be possible, this ordeal felt like the shoujo mangas he liked to read.
‘But don’t those characters end up getting isekai’d or sent back in time after they’ve died a premature death? I don’t think I died! I literally just fell asleep like usual! And I didn’t have any special thoughts about going back to the past before I fell asleep, I just thought maths was really boring!’
‘And don’t people have a kami-or-something appear in front of them offering them the choice? Why did I just randomly get sent back?’
Going around for his eleventh lap of the field, sweat dripped down into his eyes. ‘Shit why am I so tired?’ Breathing heavy, he pushed on.
Usually, the people in shoujo mangas travel back in time due to regrets they must fix or revenge for a betrayal. But Eijun had no regrets, he was content with all the hardships he’d faced because he understood that they were what had made him a stronger pitcher and he certainly didn’t have any betrayals to avenge. So why was he here now? Starting all over again, right at the beginning, with poor stamina, a weaker body, and a team full of people who don’t know him.
On his fifteenth lap of the field a new train of thought started to occur to him. It felt like new life was being pumped around his body, his pace which had slowed gradually increased.
Regrets. ‘Deadball.’
Revenge. ‘Inashiro.’
His pre-game drive from the Norikane match had not diminished so it figured he just needed a new recipient for it. A new old goal.
Koshien with this team.
Circling the field for his twentieth lap, the Southpaw’s thoughts started aligning into one complete singular trail more and more.
‘Simple thinking really is the best for this Sawamura Eijun, no need for me to overcomplicate an already complicated situation.’
Who cared if he had poor stamina, a weak body, and had to start over with his team? He could build everything back up and be stronger for it too. As for his team,
‘I’ll make it so that they have to know me.’
PART III: APRIL
Grabbing what he needed Eijun snuck out of his dorm room and hurried to an empty secluded area on the grounds. The air outside was cool, a light breeze flowing that was typical for an April evening. May was quickly approaching but Eijun had yet to feel like much progress had been made. Objectively, his lack of progress made sense, after all it had only been a few days since he’d travelled back in time.
He started with warmups and a toned-down version of the training menu he was using in his second year before moving on to shadow pitching. His form, which had felt unstable the first time he had built it, moved fluidly, and improved at a greater rate than the previous timeline. Even if his current body hadn’t pitched like this before, his mind sure remembered the feeling.
Picking up the baseball he had secretly snatched from storage, the Southpaw got to work on his pitches. Pitching towards a wall was nothing like pitching to a catcher but as he was now, in the situation with the team he found himself in, this was the best he could do.
Standing where he had marked 18.44m from the wall to be, Eijun wound up for his four-seam fastball, locating it towards the four corners of the strike zone he’d drawn on the wall with chalk. Expectedly, his speed had dropped from what he was pitching in his second year however, with the strong stability the four-seam allowed, that only made painting the corners easier for him.
He fell into a steady routine of pitching and running back for the baseball until he’d done around 20 pitches, 5 for each corner. Already he felt exhausted, not surprisingly, since he’d spent all of practice today running while dragging a total of 3 tires around for stamina and core strength.
‘Even so, it’s not enough.’
The image of his second year-self pitching against Hakuryuu flashed in his mind. His numbers, 110 pitches, the mentally straining game.
‘I need to catch up.’
Today, he’d decided he was going to trial his numbers for the first time in his younger body. Choosing to start with the cutter, the very first breaking ball he’d learnt, he wound up and threw straight down the middle. The break to the right was as he’d expected and after a few more pitches Eijun moved on to the two-seam grip. Going through the motions he watched the pitch break down and away perfectly, nothing like it had been when he first tried out the two-seam fastball in the last timeline. Suspicious, he tried out his other numbers, watching as the circle-change up slowed and moved as he’d wanted it to.
A stupid grin made its way onto his face, ‘Hey, no way! This is amazing!’ A scowl overtook his face for a second, ‘Huh, I feel kinda guilty though. I don’t know why I should, but this feels just like cheating.’
Even so, a flickering of lightheaded excitement rose in him, another grin taking over his face again. The Southpaw once again went through his pitching motion, transferring all his power to the ball before running to pick it up. He kept going, throwing to different locations, and losing himself in how pitching his numbers felt as easy as breathing.
However, at some point, actual breathing got difficult. Eijun, too tired to continue, stopped at somewhere around 100 pitches total feeling like he’d most definitely overdone it today. He’d forgotten about being mindful of over straining and injuring himself before even getting started as a pitcher for Seidou.
‘Ah dammit, I got carried away. Tomorrow’s gonna have to be a no-throw day, guess I’m working on batting then.’
Despite his exhaustion, the pitching he’d just done made him feel jittery, a restless energy settling in his bones. Feeling like he’d done not nearly enough, the Southpaw picked up the towel and continued with shadow pitching settling into a nice rhythm. He closed his eyes and imagined pitching to the batters he was bound to meet on the baseball field someday soon.
Todoroki Raichi. Shirakawa. Mima Souichiro.
Eijun paused his windup for a second, to an outsider it would’ve looked like a picture-perfect moment.
“Come at me,” he whispered to the night air. “The batters will go down and out this Summer, I swear it.” As if accepting his oath, the cool breeze which had been flowing stopped before picking up as a gust of wind the moment the Southpaw swung his arm down completely.
Moving into another windup he pictured the calls that he could get the outs with his, admittedly, small amount of game calling knowledge. There was still too much to do, so much to improve.
His goal was still too far, he wasn’t anywhere close. For the first time, he felt like he was running after something other than the backs of Miyuki Kazuya and Furuya Satoru.
It was a weird experience, the feeling of chasing his own back emblazoned with the number 1.
PART IV: END OF APRIL
It had been just under 4 weeks of sneaking around shadow pitching, actual pitching and building his stamina. Like before, he had not attended any of the games Seidou played in the Spring Tournament, keeping a single-minded focus towards the goal he had set. The quarterfinals against Ichidaisan had passed and it was only a matter of time before the senpai-kouhai game. It was the chance he’d been waiting and working towards.
Although, looking around himself, eating alone surrounded by third years he hadn’t talked to in either timeline made him really miss the easy camaraderie he had with his teammates.
‘Messing up with Boss on the first day, being isolated from team practice and hiding myself away for extra practice really doesn’t leave me much time for making friends huh?’
Eijun hadn’t realised it until the team came back from the game, too busy at his secret practice spot, but today was meant to be his fateful meeting with his destined rival, Furuya Satoru. Back then he hadn’t been able to catch Furuya’s serious throw, but he bet he could now, too bad he’d forgotten about it.
While lamenting about the missed opportunity to surprise Furuya with an amazing catch, Miyuki Kazuya slid into the free seat next to him.
“You’ve been entirely too quiet lately,” Miyuki said, startling Eijun out of his thoughts. “So, what’s going on in that brain of yours that’s got you so focused.”
“Miyuki Kazuya!” Eijun shouted going cat eyed, “I still haven’t forgiven you for the first day!”
“Ah, now that’s the volume I expected from you.” Miyuki teased, cheeky grin on his faced.
“-and you didn’t even let me know I had to go and apologise sincerely to Boss!!” Eijun picked up continuing his rant. “Y’know all I’m allowed to do is run right now and I’m holding you 80% accountable for it!!”
“Hey now, 80% is a bit much don’t you think,” an amused smile graced Miyuki’s lips, “wasn’t it really Kuramochi that actually made you late for practice?”
Eijun paused, logically yes it could be said to be Kuramochi’s fault but illogically it was always Miyuki Kazuya’s fault. So, for the sake of past Sawamura Eijun who had fallen for this Tanuki’s trick while never receiving justice, he simply couldn’t let it slide.
“Miyuki Kazuya! You have such a silver tongue! No, no! This Sawamura Eijun will never let this injustice against oneself go!”
Grabbing a cackling Miyuki’s collar he shook him, expressing his vehement feelings of justice for his past self.
“Hey,” both Miyuki and Eijun turned towards a voice much too familiar to him, “is it okay if I sit here?” Without waiting for a response, Furuya Satoru sat down where Eijun had just been sitting with a polite ‘excuse me’.
Remembering the scene about to occur Eijun grabbed his tray with a quick ‘please do’ and high tailed it to another table just before Furuya went and said,
“Miyuki, I don’t feel like anyone will be able to hit my pitches tomorrow. If I’m right, will you be my catcher?”
Tuning out the rest of the scene, Eijun quickly finished his meal and made his way to his secret extra practice spot. During warmups and body training, he reflected on his strange relationship and interactions with Miyuki Kazuya, in both timelines. It was easy for him to slip back into the to-and-fro banter they had when they’d first met, it felt very simple in a situation that, for him, was very not. Of course, he missed his friendship with the Miyuki that knew him, the one who thought nothing about Eijun barging into his room to read shoujo manga or to have a game calling (read: catcher understanding) session. And though he really missed the relationships he’d built, to be honest with himself, he was glad that at least one of his past friendships was somewhat familiar to him.
‘And the things I miss about the future, I’ll just build them up again.’
‘Once again, simple is best for this Sawamura Eijun.’
Thoughts about the future sorted; he turned his attention to a thought he had been somewhat avoiding. If he was remembering correctly that night he’d run into the coach and that’s where he could make an appeal to pitch in tomorrow’s game.
He wanted to make it to first string tomorrow, he wanted to pitch in more games before Summer to show how reliable he could be. Eijun had done all he could to better himself as a pitcher within the limited time frame and to be honest he’d improved too quickly for it to be normal growth.
Saving that thought for another day he finished off his extra practice and by now he was sure he’d be the last of the team to take a bath. Now all that was left to do was ‘accidentally’ run into the coach in the bathhouse.
Eyes scrunched up with anime tears pouring down his face, Eijun thought, ‘Kami-sama, give me strength.’
-
Sweat rolling down his temple Eijun made his way into the shared baths and sitting there in the bath was Kataoka-Kantoku himself. Despite having expected it, Eijun’s faced displayed horror. The Yakuza-like visage of the coach in his sunglasses and the thought of sharing the bathhouse alone making him want to cry anime tears once again.
‘At least I didn’t screw up by insulting him where he could hear again,’ Eijun thought while washing himself. ‘I think I actually thought he would kill me back then.’
Sliding into the bath with a quiet ‘E-excuse me’, Eijun sunk as low down as he could without drowning himself. ‘How did I survive this last time around, this is so awkward, why did I think I could go through this shit again, Kami-sama save me!’
What felt like hours, but realistically was probably a minute passed, before finally the coach spoke up.
“Hey, how many days have you been dragging those tires?”
Eijun quickly replied, “Over 3 weeks, Boss! I’m currently on four tires but I aim to make it to five soon, Boss! In fact, with my startling growth I may start getting abs of steel soon with how much attention my core is getting!!” He was sweating bullets and he didn’t know when to shut his mouth. ‘Loudmouth pitcher indeed’.
Silence reigned for a few seconds before, “Hm, when I played regularly, I dragged truck tires.”
The silence that followed gave Eijun the chance to calm down and remember who he was. He wasn’t the cocky, loudmouth first year brat he used to be. By some kami given chance he was second year Sawamura Eijun back in his first-year body and with his new old goal, he was going to take this team to Koshien.
Kataoka-Kantoku spoke up again, “Hey, you haven’t been to a single one of our games yet. How come?” Eijun hesitated to reply because how should he answer this question now? He could say what he said last time but that wouldn’t be quite the right answer anymore. Seeing the hesitation coach continued, “It’s fine, just tell me why.”
‘Ah damn it all, I’ll just say what I truly feel, like I’ve always done.’ Eijun thought, frustrated look on his face whilst clenching his fist.
“Because!” He started, “I’ve realised in my time here that I’m not nearly enough yet, I need every second available to me just to be able to catch up to the ideal Ace I want to be!”
“Hm?” A brief look of shock passed the coach’s face, not having expected that answer from Sawamura.
“I left my old teammates to come here to Seidou to test my strength and I’ve not done anything worthy of that betrayal so far! To stand on that mound as the team’s first defence, to take this team to Koshien and to take the crown has become my one and only goal! Every second I have is devoted to that!” Voice slightly softer than before, Eijun continued. “If I have so selfishly devoted myself to standing on that mound, in a game where I have no chance of standing there whilst up in the stands, would I really be able to cheer on someone else from the bottom of my heart?”
A memory of Sawamura on the first day of practice flashed through the coach’s mind “I CAME HERE TO BE THE ACE! I’M NOT GOING TO LOSE TO ANYONE IN THAT!”
“I think it may be impossible for me to do that. Being so unsure in my sincerity of support, I think it would be better to not go and instead keep moving single-mindedly forward to my goal.”
The long pause that followed his final words had Eijun recalling just who he was talking to. ‘Oh Kami-sama! Was I too honest with my feelings? Is Boss not gonna let me play now? Argh, hurry up and answer you damn Boss man!!!’ *Inner Eijun was crying anime tears.
“Heh, HAHAHA!!” The coach stood up suddenly, looking refreshed. “Take the team to Koshien you say?”
Shocked at the coach’s manly, manly body, Eijun was wide eyed as he shouted, “This team Boss! Not just Seidou but this team as it is now!!!”
Kataoka-Kantoku roared again, “Kid, your thoughts and feelings are like those of a magnificent Ace’s. Your selfish desire for the mound and the single-minded, almost blind, devotion to this team’s dream of Koshien.” He stressed the words ‘this team’ the way Sawamura had. “It may be what your upperclassman are missing right now.” The coach left the bath and made his way to the exit. “Come to the field tomorrow and bring your glove. Thanks to your stupidly honest reply, you’re getting one final chance.”
To Eijun, the Yakuza-like man’s final words seemed to echo throughout the bathhouse. With the coach out of sight Eijun shouted his loudest to make himself heard, “Hai, Boss! This Sawamura Eijun swears he will make this one final chance worth a million!!!”
-
Kataoka stood in the changing area outside, hearing what Sawamura had said. “Worth a million, heh? Don’t make me expect too much from you kid.”
Walking back to the coach’s accommodation, he thought back on what Sawamura had told him, his eyes seemingly blazed in golden flames, ‘TO STAND ON THE MOUND AS THE TEAM’S FIRST DEFENCE, TO TAKE THIS TEAM TO KOSHIEN AND TO TAKE THE CROWN HAS BECOME MY ONE AND ONLY GOAL!’
‘He sincerely believes from the bottom of his heart that this team can go and take Koshien.’
A small, tiny smile sat on his lips before a singular repeated word made its way into his memories, ‘THREE WEEKS, BOSS!’, ‘FIVE SOON, BOSS!’, ‘THIS TEAM, BOSS!’, ‘HAI, BOSS!’
“Who does that kid think he’s calling boss!?”
-
From Eijun’s perspective, he had decided that Kataoka-Kantoku’s approval to pitch in tomorrow’s game also meant implicit permission to practice pitching. So, with this simple mindset, the Southpaw raced to finish his bath and get started on the next step of his plan.
-
A knock at the door drew Kariba Wataru’s attention from the manga he was reading. Looking at the clock he thought it was a bit on the late side for people to be visiting, regardless he went to open the door and found someone he had never talked to before.
‘Sawamura, I think it was?’ He was about to greet the other teen before Sawamura suddenly bowed in front of him.
“Please help me practice pitching!” The brunette shouted. Kariba startled and remained silent unsure of what to say to that but certainly surprised by the energetic guy. Sawamura straightened up and looked him straight in the eyes. “You’re a catcher right! Well, I’m a pitcher but I haven’t pitched to a catcher in forever and there’s a game tomorrow!”
‘Ah, what do I do, isn’t this too sudden?’ He thought. ‘Also, isn’t he being a bit loud for the hour?’
As if agreeing with his thoughts, one of the senpai he was rooming with called, “Oi, Kariba!” He turned towards the desk the third year was sitting at. “If your conversation’s gonna be loud go have it outside, I’m studying here!” He admonished.
“Ah, sorry senpai!” Quickly shuffling himself and Sawamura outside he closed the door to his dorm and turned back to Sawamura. The other teen looked freshly bathed; his hair was still damp.
‘And he still wants to go practice despite looking ready for bed?’
“Ah, erm, Sawamura was it?” Nodding his head Sawamura went to open his mouth again. Quickly Kariba interjected, “I’m not sure why you want to practice with me but it’s kinda late for practice right now.”
“Oh yeah but isn’t this the perfect time for practice? The indoor areas will be empty! And we have a game tomorrow, right?” He exclaimed. “And the first years are on one team so I figured it would be good to get some practice in for tomorrow and what better practice than the catcher I’ll probably be working with!”
“I’m sure there are other catchers amongst the first years you might end up being paired with.” Kariba started but then Sawamura shook his head vehemently, two arms in from of him in an X shape.
“That’s no good! I want to work with you!”
Sighing the catcher said, “I’m still not sure why you’re asking me, I’m really not as good as you might think I am.”
“Eh, No way! You’re a great catcher Kariba, I just know it!”
“Still, it’s a bit late...” He trailed off after seeing the look on Sawamura’s face. His eyes were alight, he had a feeling he’d be giving in soon. What could he do when faced with a pitcher determined to pitch?
“Just 50 pitches!” Sawamura bowed his head, hands together in front of him. “Please! Don’t you think it would be helpful to get used to the pitches and come up with signs before the game?”
“Signs?” Kariba asked, curiosity starting to bubble at the pit of his stomach. ‘Signs implies he has multiple pitches.’
Seeing that Kariba needed one final push Sawamura grinned, “Yosh! Come practice with me and I’ll show you all the pitches I have!”
-
Catcher’s mitt in hand, Kariba found himself in an empty indoor practice across from Sawamura. The other teen had explained that he wanted to work on Kariba catching his ‘numbers’. When Kariba had asked what he meant by numbers, Sawamura had just smirked and said he’d explain as he pitched. So crouched down with mitt located in the middle of the strike zone, he watched Sawamura begin his windup.
‘So, he’s a Southpaw,’ he thought. ‘Wait, I can’t see his arm- ‘
BAM.
Eyes wide Kariba looked at the pitcher in front of him, ‘What was that?’
“That pitch is my four-seam fastball.” Sawamura grinned at him from across the practice area. “I have a bunch of grips I’ve tried working on, but some of them are still incomplete so those are shelved until I can improve them. I’d say there’s currently 6 pitches that can be of use in a game.”
‘6 pitches?’
‘Who is this guy?’
“I’ve also been told my form is good for deceiving batters. You see I use my right hand as a wall,” Sawamura demonstrated by going through his pitching form, “and that closes off my body and makes it possible to hide the trajectory of the ball. And then because of this my arm comes out much later, see!” Finishing the demonstration of his pitching form, Sawamura stood upright again. “You couldn’t see my arm, right?”
Silently, Kariba nodded.
“And because of the flexibility in my wrists adding spin to the pitch, the ball doesn’t lose its velocity by the time it reaches the plate and because of those two factors the ball can feel faster than it really is. Though, this doesn’t make too much of a difference with good batters who can quickly get used to the timing.” The brunette in front of him finished his explanation and then grinned. “Anyway, I wanted to practice because I wanted you to get used to the timing, so it doesn’t throw you off during the game.”
“Ah, erm thank you for the consideration.” Kariba said in lieu of anything better to say due to his shock.
Excited, Sawamura held up his glove for the ball. “No worries! Let’s work on my other numbers now! I’ve been working on my control lately so place your mitt anywhere in the zone and I’ll throw it there!”
Throwing the ball back, the two quickly fell into a nice rhythm of pitching and catching. 50 pitches later Sawamura stopped, grin on his face. “So, what do you think?”
‘Amazing.’ Kariba had been mesmerised since the first pitch.
Giving the Southpaw a grin of his own he said, “I think the senpai might be in for a shock tomorrow.”
-
April, The Next Day
‘It sure is noisy in the spectator stands today,’ Eijun thought to himself whilst in the middle of warming up his whole body. ‘I think it was like this last time too, but I guess I didn’t take much notice of it, probably too hyped up about Boss giving me a chance to pitch.’
“Isn’t that nice?”
‘Ah that’s probably also a reason why I didn’t really pay attention to the spectators last time. That four-eyed tanuki bastard!’ Eijun turned his head towards the voice, going cat-eyed in the process. “Miyuki Kazuya!!!”
Miyuki smirked back at him, “That’s senpai to you kid.”
“I’ll treat you like a senpai when you act like one.” Eijun turned away to continue going through his stretches again. “Anyway, I don’t have time for you today, it’s a big day y’know.”
“Yes, yes, it’s your first day getting to practice with the team.” Signature cheeky grin on his face Miyuki continued, “Lucky you, that it’s a game with your hungry senpais”
“No, no, Miyuki Kazuya!” Sawamura returned with his own signature grin, “Today is the day I make it to first string!!” The conversation stilted.
Miyuki, unsure of what to think, instead allowed a sly smirk to grow across his face, “Hoh, aren’t you underestimating your senpai a little too much, baby pitcher-kun.”
“No way! The senpai are amazing for sure!” Eijun waved his arms about hoping that would help him get his point across, and it had, for Miyuki was surprised by the younger teen’s intense earnestness. “The hours they’ve put into baseball would probably quadruple the number of hours we first years have put together! And the senpais are surely looking to prove themselves to the Boss, as this is one of their last possible appeals before Summer, right? The senpai’s years of hard work, I want to face it head on with everything I have! They’ll surely come out swinging but I don’t believe us first years will go down without a fight either! We’ve got to show Boss everything we’ve got to offer! And personally,” At this moment Sawamura’s demeanour changed, his flailing hands stopped, and he looked Miyuki straight on with eyes burning in golden flames, “I think I have a lot more to offer than anyone thinks.”
Miyuki, looking straight at Sawamura’s drive, felt that he was about to see something interesting today. He was sure of it, this loudmouth, Southpaw pitcher would put on a nice show for him. He couldn’t wait.
Faux sighing in what looked like acceptance, Miyuki couldn’t help extending an offer to Sawamura. “Well since you’re that confident, I’ll help you warm up on the side before your turn to go up and pitch.” Miyuki had already taken a few steps towards the gates, when he was, once again, stilted by Sawamura’s words.
“No need Miyuki Kazuya,” Eijun started off in the direction of the first-year dugout, before getting too far away he turned back once to shoot Miyuki a downright mischievous grin, “for this Sawamura Eijun has already planned everything out!”