Chapter Text
Location: Tokyo, Japan. Unnamed Izakaya in Shinjuku, Early Spring 2039.
“Yo! Sawamura, over here!” Kuramochi Yoichi, the former shortstop of Seidou High School from Miyuki’s generation calls out for the newly arrived figure from his spot at the table where the former alumnus of Seidou High baseball team had gathered. Of course, it wasn’t the entire group since the izakaya wouldn’t have fit them all under one roof if that was the case. Still, those who had been close with Sawamura were gathered in the izakaya today, to welcome the newly retired professional player from MLB back home.
Sawamura Eijun had started out playing for the NPB in the Pacific League, he was with the NPB for seven years before he was scouted for the MLB league. Ever since then, Eijun has been seen playing actively in the MLB league. On more occasions than not, Sawamura was always the one to rescue the team from a pinch. And no matter which team the former loudmouth pitcher of Seidou was playing for in the MLB league, he was always the number one mood maker for the team.
Anyway, because Sawamura was always busy with the games in the MLB league, the guy hasn’t managed to find time for a home visit over the past decade. Therefore, once words had reached the ears of the alumnus from Seidou High baseball team about Sawamura’s pending retirement from the MLB, those who weren’t so busy with their lives started planning a gathering on the day of their friend’s return.
“Hey, Mochi-senpai.” Sawamura Eijun greeted as he wheeled his luggage together with him as he approached the table where he could see his friends from his high school baseball team sitting.
“Welcome back, Eijun.” Kominato Haruichi greeted him as Eijun joined them at the table in the izakaya.
“Yeah, I’m back. So, what makes you guys so anxious about meeting up with me that it couldn’t have waited until I've fully settled down in the country? I have to rush here from the airport, you know?” Sawamura Eijun commented as he took a seat next to the ever-silent rival of his from their high school days, Furuya Satoru.
For a moment, Eijun thought he had heard the soft murmur of a welcome back coming from Furuya, but when he paused to take a look at the raven-haired pitcher; he was met with silence, and thus, Eijun thought he had misheard. And so, Eijun shifted his attention back to his pink-haired friend who was still addressing him.
“Hmm... sorry for making it seem as though we are anxious, but the thing is we haven’t met up for so long and we aren’t exactly aware of your plans after coming back from the MLB. For all we know, you could have headed straight back to Nagano and we didn’t want to risk missing a chance to speak with you before you did. So, Kuramochi-senpai thought we ought to arrange for a meet-up with you as soon as you landed in Tokyo.” Haruichi, the younger Kominato sibling explains, as he handed the copy of the izakaya’s menu over for Eijun’s perusal.
“Ah... I see. That's kind of understandable.” Sawamura Eijun nodded as he accepted the offered menu while scanning the group of people seated at the table swiftly, just to get an idea of who was here for the gathering to welcome him home.
It seems like the majority of his yearmates who made the first string when they were on the Seidou baseball team were here. From where he was seated, he could see Kaneda queuing for the washroom facility of the izakaya. They didn’t get to speak but managed to share a nod of acknowledgment before the guy entered the washroom. Takatsu Hiroomi, who had finally made the first string after Kuramochi graduated, was here as well. The guy was splitting his attention between chatting with Kanemaru and Toujou about something and responding to some text messages, at the same time when Eijun took his seat at the table. Furuya and Haruichi, the two guys Eijun considers to have the closest relations with are most definitely here. Even though, Furuya was mostly silent. That's about everyone from his year that shows up at the gathering, but it seems the rest of them who weren’t here had sent their regards for him through those who were present this evening.
“Kariba says hi, he wanted to come today but something crops up last-minute and hence he’s unable to show.” Takatsu Hiroomi said, as he finally set down his mobile phone to look at Sawamura Eijun, who had joined them at the table with baggage in tow.
“That’s fine, I’m not so VIP that I expected everyone from our year to be here, tonight.” Sawamura Eijun replied with a casual shrug of his shoulders, before continuing to survey the izakaya to see how many faces he recognized from his high school era were here tonight for the gathering.
As for the seniors, it would appear that the only representative from Miyuki’s generation of players who was present this evening for the gathering was Kuramochi. Then again, Eijun supposed that’s understandable since there aren’t a lot of players from Miyuki’s generation that Eijun would consider a close friend except for Kuramochi and perhaps, Miyuki Kazuya. And Miyuki Kazuya is still actively playing in the NPB, so, it makes sense for the guy to be absent from today’s gathering session. But Eijun knows to expect an incoming text greeting from the bespectacled catcher at some point tonight.
As for Captain Yuki’s generation, well... except for his Chris-shisho, nobody shows up in person for the gathering. Though their text messages did come in on Eijun’s phone as he took his seat at the table. Miraculously enough, Eijun had managed to keep in contact with these seniors over the years.
Of course, maintaining regular contact with his Chris-shisho is a must for Eijun since his master in baseball was the one person, he would always look to for sound advice. And then, there’s the fact that Eijun had grown to discover that his feelings for his shisho had crossed the boundary of simple worshipping of an idol to something that bore a semblance to romantic love, a few years into his career with the NPB.
Yes, this was how dense Eijun was when it came down to things that weren’t related to baseball.
Either way, the discovery of the special feelings he held for Chris was part of the reason why Eijun had accepted the scouting offer from the MLB without actually taking time to consider his options carefully. The number of things going on in Eijun’s mind at that particular point in time was a little hectic, to be honest. The sheer thought of having his hidden feelings for Chris discovered was too daunting for Eijun to stomach, so, he did the first thing that came to mind. He ran and then went into ‘hiding’.
Eijun wasn’t certain if his decision to join the MLB came as a surprise to his beloved Chris-shisho or not. He had never quite mustered up the courage to inquire on the subject. Nevertheless, once Eijun had successfully hidden himself out of reach from his former teammates from Seidou... he finally had the time to sit down and digest the fact that he bats for the other team.
The thought of getting involved in a relationship has never quite occurred to Eijun before then, as baseball had taken up all his free time on hand and it’s always what shows up in the forefront of his mind as well. So, pardon him when the sudden realization of his growing attraction towards the catcher of his rival team in NPB, as well as his ‘master in baseball’ threw Eijun for a loop that he completely wasn’t prepared for.
Regardless, while playing for the MLB... Eijun had all the time in the world during the off-season to think about what to do with these newfound feelings he had for his Chris-shisho. So, while Eijun sorted out his feelings for Chris, he continued to keep up with his routine text messages to the former. For a few years, Eijun had restricted his communication with Chris strictly to text messages only. Because, he didn’t think he could bear holding back the urge to confess if they were to ever converse verbally or worse, in person.
After all, Eijun was always one to wear his heart on the sleeves. Hence, it’s very difficult for Eijun to hide away things from others. Particularly, towards those that know him...and that was exactly why he had fled Japan, in the first place. Thankfully, the decade spent in the MLB had taught Eijun a lot about hiding, and that ultimately, was the reason why he’d dared to show up for the gathering organized by Kuramochi today.
Regardless, the reason behind Eijun’s regular communication with Chris Takigawa Yu aside. It's the fact that Eijun had managed to keep in contact with the other seniors from Chris-shisho's batch that surprises the loudmouth pitcher, himself. And so, Eijun spent the next few minutes responding to every text message that came in on his phone from his respected seniors.
However, Eijun had absolutely no idea what these seniors of his were doing for a living following their graduation from colleges and universities – except Chris who went pro after graduating from college. Due to the shoulder injury, Chris didn’t proceed to go pro right after high school and instead opted to play college baseball for a few years before going down the route of becoming a professional baseball player with the NPB.
Captain Yuki, on the other hand, based on what Eijun could remember – decides to enroll in university despite being offered a draft invitation from the NPB after graduating from Seidou. As for whether or not, Captain Yuki went pro after university... Eijun has no idea; he wasn’t particularly paying attention to what his former cap chose to do in the end because his attention had been fully focused on the team that his Chris-shisho had decided to join back then. Oniisan-senpai, based on what he had heard from Haruichi, took up baseball coaching for the elementary school kids. Other than that, Eijun didn’t know the career choice of these seniors. The topic wasn’t touched upon during their occasional text exchanges, usually during the festive season, or to congratulate Eijun on his team’s win for the season, etc.
“Finally done replying to Tetsu’s message?” Chris Takigawa Yu inquires when he notices Eijun finally sets down the mobile gadget which has been beeping constantly since the former MLB player steps through the threshold of the izakaya.
“Ah, Shisho! So, you knew it was Captain Yuki texting me, all this while?” Sawamura Eijun commented as he finally had time to greet his ‘master in baseball’.
“Well...I had an inkling about it. Tetsu has always been curious about the MLB, and you’re the only one who plays in the MLB among us who went pro. So, naturally, Tetsu would have a bunch of questions that he would like to seek clarifications from you upon your return.” Chris answered casually as he took a sip of water from his drink.
“Hmm...” Eijun was about to say something in return when his train of thought was broken by the captain of his generation speaking up.
“So, wamura! What’s your plan now that you’ve retired from the professional leagues?” Kanemaru Shinji – the captain of Eijun’s generation started, successfully breaking off Eijun’s train of thought. At the same time, Eijun who simply had no idea what to order from the menu decides to let Chris assist him in deciding on the food to order.
“Are you sure?” Chris took the menu from Eijun, as he inquired.
“Yes, I’ve no clue what to order. I'm not a picky eater, so, I’m probably fine with whichever dishes you decide to order for me as long as there’s no natto in them.” Eijun eventually added as an afterthought.
“Ah... still no good with natto, I see.” Chris Takigawa Yu allows a smirk to grace his lips as he recalls multiple times, the facial expression on Eijun’s face when natto was served as part of their meal while at Seidou.
“Yes. So, please do not order anything with natto in them.” Sawamura Eijun nodded with solemnity on his face, before shifting his gaze onto the figure of Kanemaru Shinji as he responded to the guy’s query about his plans after he retired from the MLB.
“Hmm... to be honest, I haven’t exactly decided on what I’m going to do next. For now, though, I planned to head home to Nagano to pay respects to my late grandparents and spend some time with my parents who aren’t getting any younger. Only after that, I will start thinking about what to do with my free time on hand. My savings from the past decade should last me for quite some time without having to worry about matters that concern bread and butter.” Sawamura Eijun shrugged nonchalantly in response.
“I see, then it’s probably good that we manage to get a hold of you before you head back to the countryside.” Toujou Hideaki commented thoughtfully.
The group then spent the next hour catching up on each other’s adulthood life, topics such as who’s getting hitched soon, and who’s already married with kids on the way, etc, all came up for discussion while they ate and drank. Of course, his rather lack of a romantic life was also brought up briefly for discussion but the subject was soon changed when Haruichi brought up the mention of how his parents have been sending his elder brother off for match-making sessions, in their eagerness for their sons to settle down.
‘Ah... sorry Oniisan-senpai for throwing you under the bus, but Haruichi’s truly a god-sent. I had forgotten how Mochi-senpai could get when it comes down to the subject of the relationship between Wakana and me. The thing though... Wakana and my relationship weren’t anything romantic, if anything, it’s more leaning towards the sibling bond.’ Eijun mentally sighed in relief as Kuramochi-senpai's focus of attention was successfully diverted through his pink-haired friend’s intervention.
Unexpectedly, Eijun found his eyes meeting the eyes of Chris Takigawa Yu, and for a while, the two of them just sat frozen with their eyes locked into one another.
‘Thump, thump, thump...’ Eijun could almost hear the rapid pounding of his heart when he met eyes with his beloved Chris-shisho, and for a while, nothing mattered except for those brown eyes in front of him. It took Eijun a moment to realize that he was staring, and upon coming to that realization, he promptly averted his eyes from the figure of his shisho to direct his gaze elsewhere.
For Chris Takigawa Yu, the moment his eyes met Eijun’s across the table...and felt his heart starting to race. He knows he’s doomed. There was no denying it, he truly felt something for his favorite kouhai. There's no argument about Eijun being his favorite kouhai while in Seidou, literally every one of his year-mates could tell that Chris favors Eijun over the other first-years. After all, Eijun was the one to bring the spark back into his eyes and remind him about his undying love for the sport – baseball.
‘Damn... Ryosuke is going to be so gleeful about this entire situation. To think he figured it out before I did...’ Chris Takigawa Yu was thinking inwardly as he hurried to avert his eyes from the pair of intense brown eyes in front of him.
‘Looks like Aniki’s right... Eijun and Chris-senpai, the two of them bats for the other team. No wonder, neither of them has ever shown any interest in the opposite gender despite how the females tend to flock around them. Judging from the way they reacted when their eyes met, it seems there’s some mutual attraction between them. Though, it didn’t seem like the two of them had anything going on between them, at present. Then again, that’s completely understandable given how much distance there was between them until today. I wonder if there’s ever going to be a day whereby these two will finally confess their feelings for each other.’ - Kominato Haruichi thought silently to himself as he filed away the little scene of oddity between Chris Takigawa Yu and his loudmouth pitcher friend, for future reference. Little did he know that such an opportunity would never occur anymore as this particular timeline would soon cease to exist, in a few hours.
There was alcohol served during their little gathering session, but not a lot, so none of them got drunk from the drinking involved. Finally, the group parted ways at the entrance of the izakaya, and once everyone had left the site – Sawamura Eijun finally turned and headed for the direction of the business hotel he had booked for his overnight stay in Tokyo, before returning to his hometown in Nagano, the next morning.
Later that night as Sawamura Eijun lays on the bed in the hotel where he had booked for his stay while in Tokyo, the newly retired MLB player found himself reflecting on the past that helps shaped him into the person he was today. One particular face stood out among the rest, and the owner of that face was Chris Takigawa Yu.
If there was anything that Eijun had regretted most in his life thus far, it was the fact that he had failed to bring his beloved Chris-shisho and the rest of the third-years to the stage of the Koshien. Of course, his Chris-shisho would have said otherwise, citing that it isn’t his responsibility alone for that loss in the qualifier finals against their all-time rival – Inashiro Industrial. The fact that they had to resort to relying upon Eijun, who was only a first-year then, for the final match in the qualifier tournament just goes to show how inadequate their team had been, at that particular point in time.
Still, that didn’t stop Eijun from feeling disappointed over the fact of not being able to let his respected seniors and his beloved Chris-shisho get a feel of the Koshien. After all, both Miyuki and his generation had managed to get to experience the Koshien for themselves. With an audible sigh, Sawamura Eijun turned his body as he readjusted his sleeping position as he thought ‘If only I could turn back time...’.
With that particular thought in mind, Eijun fell asleep completely oblivious to the fact that some deity up in heaven might just have overheard his thoughts and took it upon themselves to grant his inner wish.
Location: Sawamura Household in Nagano, Japan. 2nd January 2018, 7.15 am
When Eijun woke up the next morning, instead of the hotel room ceiling he was expecting to see; he found himself staring up at the familiar ceiling of his family home in Nagano.
‘What the...?!’ Sawamura Eijun thought as he sat up abruptly in bed, just to double-check on his surroundings. ‘It is truly my childhood bedroom back in Nagano... but why? I thought I was sleeping in a hotel room in Tokyo, the night before. Am I dreaming then? Is this a dream?’
Eijun’s mind was a whirlwind of thoughts going out of control, so much so that his face started to turn a shade of red from thinking too hard. He was so deep in thought that he didn’t notice his grandfather barging into his room. And if it weren’t for his grandfather slapping him hard on the back of his head, Eijun would have trouble snapping himself out of his immobilized position on the bed.
“Argh...” Eijun groaned upon feeling the impact of the slap from his grandfather’s hand, as he automatically reached a hand up to rub at the painful spot. “Gramps, why did you smack me so hard?”
“I wouldn’t have smacked you on the head if you had answered me when I called out for your attention earlier.” Sawamura Eitoku berated his grandson in response.
“Oh... you were calling out for my attention earlier, why?” Eijun blinked uncomprehendingly at his grandfather, if he had any lingering thoughts about this entire scenario being a dream earlier, it has now dispersed into nothingness. After all, one shouldn’t have felt the full impact of the slap if this entire situation was just a dream. So, he figured, he must have time-traveled to the past while he was asleep in the hotel room in Tokyo, unknowingly.
If Eijun had more sense in him, he might have started to wonder about the 5 ‘W’ and 1 ‘H’ about how he has gotten here in the past. However, he isn’t. So, he simply took the strange developments in stride. Though, he did wonder briefly about what might be happening to the body of his adult self now that his mind is in the past, and the body of his younger self. Eijun knew he was in the body of his younger self because he could see that for himself, the difference in the size of his hands and the obvious lack of the muscles he had grown over the years of playing baseball. The only question Eijun had on his mind now was how far back in the past, his adult mind had traveled.
Did his adult body die since his consciousness is no longer there? Well, that is something which he would never get to know anymore, Eijun supposed...though he did feel a tiny pang of regret when he realized that he didn’t get to confess his hidden feelings for his Chris-shisho before some unknown forces at play decided to land him back in the past.
‘Then again, perhaps it’s good that I didn’t confess. Because if I’d truly died in the other timeline, it’d be easier for Chris-shisho to move on...’ Sawamura Eijun thought inwardly to himself as he continued to observe the body of his younger self.
The sheer thought of telling his family about him coming from the future didn’t even occur to Eijun, because he knows if he were to say something like this – out of the blue. The only result that awaited him would be a harsh slap on the back of his head by the hands of his gramps, followed by a trip to the nearest mental institute for a comprehensive check on his brain under the insistence of his parents. Therefore, Eijun had decided right here and now that the knowledge of a future that has yet to come into play would be something he would never divulge to anyone.
However, Eijun also knows he isn’t the type that could keep a secret for long... so, perhaps, he ought to start keeping a diary or something. That way, he could pen down the secrets of his time-traveling and keep it locked away somewhere, and hopefully, that’ll satisfy his underlying urge to share his secrets with someone or something. On a technicality, it could work... since, it did kind of work before when he was sorting out his newfound feelings for his beloved Chris-shisho back in the previous timeline while he was hiding away in the MLB. Of course, even with all these swirling thoughts in his mind, Sawamura Eijun still remembers to spare some attention for his gramps who was still in his childhood bedroom and speaking to him.
“What else but your decision on which middle school to attend? In case you’ve failed to remember, your elementary school graduation ceremony is set to take place in March which is only two months away. It’s already January now, and the new school year will begin in April. Have you decided yet on the middle school that you are going to attend? We have to start applying for your middle school enrolment soon, not to mention that you’ve got to start preparing for the entrance test of the middle school in which you intend to enroll. Previously, you said you were going to join the same school as your friends. Have they informed you of the school of their choosing yet?” Sawamura Eitoku reminded his grandson pointedly.
‘Ah... I guess that answers the question of how far back in time I’ve gone. It seems I have gone right back to the point of origin, whereby I’ve just gotten myself interested in baseball. Yikes! Does that mean my capability is now back to square one?! Guess I'll just have to find out once I land my hands upon a baseball... hmm... do I have one on hand already or maybe not.’ Eijun thought as a quick scan around his room informed him that nothing that resembled his old baseball gear was lying around, which meant he hadn’t gotten anything baseball-related yet. Okay, and so, getting new baseball gear is on the top of his agenda list alongside the goal to change the future for the better.
“Eijun! Don’t ignore me! Answer my question already, damn it!” Sawamura Eitoku snapped, raising his voice momentarily to express his displeasure at being ignored while restraining his urge to slap his grandson again.
“Sorry, gramps! I was just thinking back to my friends’ response on the matter. We would be joining the Akagi Middle School.” Eijun hurried to refocus his attention back onto his grandfather, as he answered.
“So, Akagi Middle School eh...? Well, I can’t say I’m surprised... your friends likely picked this school because they knew you would never make it to the other schools with your current grades.” Sawamura Eitoku commented in a gruff-like manner.
“Hey! That's not true, gramps! Akagi Middle School is way closer to our home than Akagi East Middle School or Akagi West Junior High!” Eijun protested at his grandfather’s words, though inwardly, he knew his grandfather was right on the matter... at least when it came down to Wakana’s case. After all, his childhood friend, Aotsuki Wakana is so academically inclined that she could very well join Akagi West Junior High which always performed above standards when it comes down to academic achievements.
There were three schools within the town of Akagi, Nagano that offered education for the middle-schoolers. Among them, both the Akagi East Middle School and the Akagi Middle School were operating under funding from the municipal government, while Akagi West High School Affiliated Junior High is operating under private funding. In terms of high school, Akagi West is the only high school within the town of Akagi. There is no government-funded high school in Akagi, the nearest government high school is in the neighboring town of Iizuna.
Coming back to the subject of the middle schools in the town of Akagi, as mentioned earlier, Akagi West has always performed well in terms of its academic achievements. But that didn’t mean they are weak in sports either, Akagi West is, after all, a private school in the end. It’s simply that their junior high department focused a tad more on the academic aspects, leaving the sports achievements to its counterpart – the high school department. Being privately funded, Akagi West has a more conducive environment for learning.
Akagi Middle School and Akagi East Middle School, on the other hand, would pale in comparison. Both middle schools are under the management of the local town council and operate under government funding. The two schools are always put on a pedestal for comparison. So, while Akagi East Middle School excels in the field of sports... the school’s achievements in track & field especially, could very much be considered the top of their area. Akagi Middle School, the school that Eijun and his friends are going to join in the new school year, is neither.
On one hand, Akagi Middle School couldn’t compare with Akagi West Junior High in the academic aspects, but, at the same time, neither could it compete with Akagi East in the fields of sports. Therefore, it truly is no surprise that government funding for school operations decreases with each school year. So, really... it’s no wonder that the school would end up being closed down when Eijun’s batch graduated.
Seeing as the school had failed to attract any potential students for the next round of the intake exercise. The locals either look towards the privately funded Akagi West if their financial stability can afford the tuition fees of Akagi West, or they would look into the option of attending the more reputable Akagi East Middle School.
‘Hmm... I wonder if I’ll be able to stop Akagi Middle School from closing down if the baseball team I created could make it onto the stage of the Junior Koshien. Surely, if the baseball team managed to make it into the Nationals within the year of its creation... it’ll be enough to lure in prospective students for the school, so, it needn’t closed down due to a lack of student intake. Furthermore, if the baseball team could make a name for itself on the stage of the Junior Koshien; certainly, the government funding for the school could be increased. Oh well, that can come later... for now, I’ll need to head downstairs to face my parents first. I can think about how I would like to change the future later when I have the time to do as I please.’ Sawamura Eijun, the adult in a child’s body thought to himself.
Sitting through breakfast with his parents is easy enough, even the notion of coping with the presence of his once-dead grandfather was easily handled. It was, however, the task of dealing with the holiday assignments for his elementary school that was a challenge for Eijun to handle. Given that he has completely forgotten about these assignments' existence due to how long it has been since he had to complete such assignments. Truly, if it weren’t for his mother’s reminder for him to do his holiday homework before he could head out to play with his friends later, Eijun would have forgotten it altogether.
Looking like a deer caught in headlights, Sawamura Eijun blinked slowly as he digested the bit of information laid onto his feet by his mother before answering obediently. “Okay, mom. I'll make sure to do my homework before heading out to play for the day.”
As Eijun responded to his mother’s words, he hurriedly snuck a look in the direction where the house calendar sat. A quick look at it informs him that it’s the 2nd of January, today. Given how the winter break had started on the 26th of December, and would be ending on the 6th of January. It's apparent that it’s already in the middle of the winter break, and chances are he hasn’t even gotten a head-start on those holiday assignments of his, knowing what he was like when he was a child.
‘Darn it! What exactly was the winter assignment again?! Okay, it’s only Tuesday... I still have a couple of days to work on the assignments. Surely, the holiday assignments for the elementary school level aren’t as bad as the high school holiday assignments, right? Still, I think it’s best to go to Wakana for help... surely, she will be able to tell me what exactly I’m supposed to be doing for my winter assignments. Damn! That means I wouldn’t have time to go into town today to get the baseball gear. Oh well, I guess I could do it tomorrow or the day after then. When’s dad going into town anyway? Maybe, I should ask him later. For now, it’s better to get the holiday homework over and done with. If I could get them done by today, all the better.’ Sawamura Eijun thought as his mind raced through the number of things he had on his agenda to complete while scuffing down his breakfast in an efficient manner.
Looking down at his breakfast plate, Eijun was served yet another reminder of something he would need to work on. The iron-clad rule of taking three bowls of rice for each meal is something he ought to work on and hopefully achieve by the time he enters high school in this lifetime. But that’s something that can’t be achieved overnight, he would just have to slowly level up his meal size so he wouldn’t end up wasting the food his mother prepared, by vomiting them out right after eating. Eijun knew his grandfather would smack him on the head if he were to attempt something of this sort, so, it’s best he slowly builds up his appetite. Currently, he’s eating only one bowl of rice each meal, maybe, he could start by asking for more side dishes during lunch and dinner. Yes, that’s what he would do, he would slowly and steadily level up the amount of food for each meal so it wouldn’t alarm anyone about his sudden growth in appetite.
Once done with the ingestion of his breakfast for the day, Eijun leaped to his feet and headed back upstairs to grab his school bag which hadn’t been emptied once school had let out for the winter break to begin. Eijun figured that to be the safest option if he were to head over to Wakana’s house for assistance on the holiday assignments.
“Mom, Dad, Gramps! I'm off to Wakana’s place to work on my holiday assignments.” Sawamura Eijun called out loudly to his family members as he made his way out from his family home in Nagano.
Thankfully, Eijun’s memory only fails him in terms of the school work assigned. He could still remember the way to his childhood friend’s house with no issue, otherwise, he might find himself having trouble explaining all the oddities in his behavior. While on the way over to the Aotsuki’s household, Eijun mentally took note of the various routes around the village town where his family resides. He was working on coming up with the best route for his running exercise, which he had the intention to start his stamina training, tonight.
Yep, he’s going to kick-start his training regime as soon as possible, and that means today. However, without the proper baseball gear at hand, Eijun figured running was the only way he could train at present. That makes it all the more important to get his hands on the baseball gear soon, which means, he would have to ask his dad to bring him to the shops that sell sports gear as soon as possible. Though Eijun had no idea about the quality of the gear sold in the shops of their little village town, he figured he could simply get the basic gear first and buy the rest of the better gear when he had the chance to visit the city area of Nagano.
Location: Aotsuki Household, Nagano, Japan. 2nd January 2018, Tuesday, 9 am
When Wakana was enlightened by her mother about Eijun showing up at their doorstep this early in the morning, she was relatively surprised. And the surprise level only heightens itself, when it becomes apparent that her childhood friend is here to seek her help in completing their holiday assignments instead of asking her to play with him.
“Hey, Wakana! What's with that expression on your face?” Sawamura Eijun first greeted his female childhood friend with his usual bright smile, before the expression on his face morphed into a frown as he demanded.
“Hmm... nothing. That's just me showing my surprise at you showing up on my doorstep this early in the morning, not to play but to seek my help in assisting you with the completion of the holiday assignments.” Aotsuki Wakana commented in a bemused tone of voice.
If Eijun found Wakana’s response skeptical, he certainly didn’t comment on it. Instead, he simply shrugged and moved to meet the girl in the living area of the house. Flopping down onto the floor hastily, he started pulling out the things from his school bag. Sawamura Eijun plastered a pleading look onto his features, as he kindly requested for his childhood friend to help him out by telling him just what exactly had been assigned by the teachers in school as their holiday assignments.
“You mean to tell me that you haven’t started doing any of those assignments yet?” Wakana felt her brows twitching on reflex as she digested the words coming from her childhood friend.
“Erm... yes, considering that I wasn’t paying attention to the teacher’s words before the start of the winter break. I guess you’re right to say that I haven’t written anything for the holiday assignments yet.” Eijun answered somewhat sheepishly, inwardly, he was thinking that it was impossible for him to even recall what was the holiday assignments, to begin with. After all, elementary school was decades ago for him, who’s a 35-year-old retired professional baseball player stuck in the body of his younger self.
“I see... that explains why you’ve brought everything with you when we are supposed to be working only on the holiday assignments. Anyway, our holiday assignments are simply those worksheets. Yes, the one that’s in your clear folder file.” Aotsuki Wakana rolled her eyes at her childhood friend, as she kindly pointed out the correct location of the holiday assignments from the pile of things Eijun had unloaded onto her family’s tea table.
“Oh... the mock papers huh?” Sawamura Eijun took out the said stack of worksheets from his clear folder file to give them a thorough look.
“Yes, the mock papers. After all, the teachers have already covered everything that we are supposed to learn in the current syllabus. What's left to do now is to prepare us for the exams that lie ahead, both the school’s final year examinations that are bound to start as soon as the school reopens after the end of the winter break, as well as the upcoming entrance exams which we are going to take to complete the enrolment into our desired middle school.” Aotsuki Wakana deadpans as she watches Eijun’s actions from the corner of her eyes.
“I see. Okay, understood. This, Sawamura Eijun, will get started on it, right away.” Eijun responded, reverting to the archaic form of speaking that only serves to exasperate Aotsuki Wakana, further.
“... seriously, what’s it with you and your archaic form of speaking?” Aotsuki Wakana muttered under her breath, careful to keep it out of her friend’s hearing range. The last thing she needed was for her friend to speak in that manner for the rest of the morning, which would only serve to grate on her nerves which is something she would prefer to do without.
As Aotsuki Wakana observed him from the corner of her eyes, Eijun was rapidly scanning through the questions listed on the different sets of mock papers that lay in front of him. He figured he could finish up the mother tongue mock paper on his own just fine since his mother tongue grades have always been above average. The English mock paper seems doable with little assistance as well, seeing as it’s only elementary English. Having stayed in America for the past decade while he’s with the MLB, his English proficiency level has gone significantly up. So, he figured his English grades might be better this time around as compared to the last timeline.
The mathematics mock paper, on the other hand, might need a bit of help from Wakana. After all, mathematics has never been something he’s good at. Add in the fact that he seldom needs mathematics in his adult life, except for the simple addition and subtraction required when doing his basic accounts when it comes down to noting down his daily expenses... the rest of the areas covered in mathematics weren’t exactly usable in his full-time job. Of course, that’s not to say that he had forgotten everything he’d learned in mathematics... it’s simply that he might need Wakana to help refresh his memory for a bit. Seeing as this is only mathematics at the elementary level, but that’s also the problem... he didn’t want to risk solving the questions in the mock paper using any formula that’s too advanced for his current level. That would only serve to draw funny looks in his direction from his friends, which is why, it would be advisable for Wakana to assist him in completing the mathematics assignment.
With his decision made, Eijun turns towards his female childhood friend and asks. “Do you and your family have any outing plans for today?”
“No, not exactly. Why?” Aotsuki Wakana asks back in return.
“Oh, because I intend to finish up all the holiday assignments today. If your family has other plans in mind for today, I’ll simply get you to help me out with the mathematics assignment and then head home to finish up the rest of the assignments on my own. But if your family isn’t going anywhere today, I was hoping that we could do the holiday assignments together.” Eijun answered with a shrug.
“In that case, we might as well get Nobu and the rest to join us. That way, we can get everything out of the way, and spare them the agony of completing their holiday assignments on the last day of the winter break.” Aotsuki Wakana said, suggesting the next thing that comes to mind.
“You know what? Wakana, I think you’re right. We ought to do just that.” Eijun beams at his childhood friend for the brilliant suggestion, that way, he could use this as an opportunity to share with them about his newfound love interest in baseball.
“...”
It took another half an hour for Nobu and the rest of his childhood friends to show up, and by that point in time, Eijun was already ¾ through the mother tongue assignments. He figured that was the only subject he could speed through without raising any suspicion from the ever-observant Wakana. Though, Eijun would very much prefer to do the same for the English assignments; he thought it’s best to leave that for later when he’s home. So, his next aim was to finish up the mathematics assignment under the guidance of Wakana and to a lesser extent, Nobu.
“Hello, Ei-chan! Imagine my surprise when Wakana called me up earlier telling me to come over with the holiday assignments saying that you’re already working on it, in her home. I was so certain that you’re going to leave it until the last minute, just like last year.” Yanagizawa Nobu, the catcher of his middle school team in the last timeline said as he joined Eijun at the tea table where Wakana had been completing her assignments while supervising Eijun.
“Yes, well... I have plans for the rest of the winter break, so, I figured I might as well finish up the holiday assignments while I’m free.” Eijun responded nonchalantly as he shrugged off Nobu’s hand from his shoulder so he could continue with the writing for the mother tongue mock paper.
“Plans? What kind of plans?” Nobu blinked, sounding surprised at Eijun’s words.
“Hmm... shopping plans with my dad for a start? I'm not sure when he’s going, I’m hoping for tomorrow because I have things that I would like to get from the shops in town. And then, there’s a local community baseball game that I intend to tag along with my gramps to watch. Speaking of baseball, Ichi... where did you get your baseball gear from, again? Was it in town or did you get it from the city center?” Sawamura Eijun answered Nobu absent-mindedly before turning his eyes onto the figure of Ichinomiya Manabu, who’s practically the only person among his childhood friends who has some previous experience with the game. The rest of his middle school friends are practically newbies in baseball.
“Huh? What? Oh... I got my infielder glove from the shop in town, alright. It's only the basic glove though, I think the gears sold in the shops in our town are mostly the basic, no-name gears. If you’re looking to get gears that come with big names, you would have better luck looking for them in the stores that are in the city center of Nagano.” Ichinomiya Manabu responded on auto-pilot mode, though, he had no idea why Eijun would be asking him about his baseball gear.
It wasn’t until Nobu asks Eijun blatantly outright about it, that it occurs to Ichinomiya Manabu that Eijun hasn’t been interested in the sports he had once played for a period when there was still a little league team in the countryside where they resided. The little league team that he used to belong to has now been disbanded, and he hasn’t been playing baseball since. After all, the only other little league team in Nagano was based in Matsumoto and that’s too damn far for him and his family to continue sending him for something that could only be considered as leisure activity.
“Ah... that’s fine, I doubt my gramps would let me buy baseball gear that’s too expensive at present,” Eijun answered, inwardly thinking that he’d simply buy the gear he desired when he started high school with Seidou. Until then, he supposed he could make do with the basic gears but he figured he’d probably have to get the complete set of baseball gears, bats included. After all, he would like to learn the proper way to bat, if possible, this time around.
Granted, Eijun wasn’t certain how successful he would be in the areas of batting because he never quite mastered it during his years of playing in high school, and later on in the years spent in the professional league. While he has been able to level up his batting by employing the use of slash-bunting, it’s not something he could truly rely upon as the use of slash-bunting was banned in professional leagues. The only time he could put his slash-bunting skills to use is during the high school tournament, as he has seen players from other teams do it on an occasional basis so he knows slash-bunting isn’t banned for high school matches.
However, slash-bunting is illegal for middle-school baseball, so, he can’t exactly rely on his slash-bunting skills while playing for his middle-school team which is why Eijun is determined to learn the proper way of batting, this time around. Of course, Eijun could still depend on his regular bunting for the games... but it’s hard to win a game with just bunting. Unless he happens to have teammates who are very reliable when it comes down to playing team offense which is not quite possible with a team like his middle school team.
After all, his middle school team is a team that’s going to be made up of mostly beginners. Seeing as he wasn’t quite certain of his friend – Ichinomiya's batting skills at present, he wasn’t going to put everything in one basket. Hence, Eijun’s going to find some ways to learn proper batting, in this new timeline while he’s creating his middle school team.
“Wait... Ei-chan, does that mean you’re going to start playing baseball now?” Ichinomiya Manabu started as the situation started to dawn on him.
“Yes, of course. Baseball is so cool!” Eijun beams in the declaration as he answered Ichinomiya Manabu, whom he had taken to address as ‘Ichi’ when verbally addressing the boy because the boy’s name was too damn long. Just like how the players in Seidou tend to address Watanabe-senpai as ‘Nabe’. Either way, casting aside the way he addressed Ichinomiya as Ichi, while Nobu and some others had opted to use the first name of Ichinomiya Manabu... Eijun promptly started gushing to his group of childhood friends about how awesome baseball was, in an overly enthusiastic manner.
Ichinomiya and Nobu shared a look among themselves before sitting back to let their excited friend, Eijun gush over the sports like a puppy wagging its tail for attention for a little while longer before Ichinomiya Manabu took it upon himself to inquire after the position that Eijun would like to play.
“Well, of course, it’s the pitcher I’m aiming to become. That's like the coolest position on the field. Anyway, I know not to get too ahead of myself since I know nothing but the bare minimal for the sports at present. That was exactly why I’m going to tag along my gramps for the local community game later on in the week. I was going to ask the uncles playing in the local community game to teach me about baseball.” Eijun said this was the best possible solution that he could come up with that might explain his sudden knowledge about baseball when he created the baseball team for Akagi Middle School, in a few months.
“I see... well, good luck in learning about the baseball sport from those uncles on the local community team. I'll be available if you need a practice partner, we can play simple catch ball together when you’ve learned how to throw the ball.” Ichinomiya Manabu volunteered himself as Eijun’s catch-ball partner. He didn’t mention anything about being the batter for Eijun’s pitching practice because he knew it was too early for that, and Eijun didn’t mention anything about it either because he wasn’t supposed to know anything about the sport just yet.
“And Nobu, what about you?” Eijun nodded before turning his attention onto his other childhood friend, and his former catch-ball partner in the last time line.
“Huh? What? Oh... sure, I’ll play catch-ball with you as well but you probably have to teach me how to play catch-ball when the time comes. After all, unlike Manabu here, I’ve got zero experience in baseball.” Yanagizawa Nobu responded, and with that, their little conversation about baseball was cut short when they were pointedly reminded of their ultimate reason for coming by the Aotsuki household by their female childhood friend.
Eager to get his hands on the baseball gear so he could restart his training regime as soon as possible, the first thing Eijun did upon coming face to face with his father when he reaches home after coming back from the Aotsuki household was to ask after his father’s planned visit to town.
“Dad, when are you heading into town exactly? Can I go along with you? I have something that I want to buy.” Eijun asks, sounding very much anxious as he waits for his father’s response.
“Well...I was going to head into town tomorrow morning to get some new planting tools, some of our tools in the shed are no longer in good functioning condition.” Sawamura Eikou, the son of Sawamura Eitoku, and father to Sawamura Eijun responded.
“Oh good, can I please go along with you to the town? I promised I’d be on my very best behavior while you shopped for the planting tools, as long as you bring me to the shop, I want to visit at the end of your shopping trip.” Eijun gushes out in a rush, again, reminding the audience of a puppy wagging its tail for attention.
“Okay, I'll bring you along as long as you’re done with your holiday assignments as agreed upon.” Sawamura Eikou relented, unable to withstand the force of the puppy eyes look directed his way by his only son.
“Yes Sir! No worries, sir! I’m already 80% done with the assignment; I'll head upstairs to finish up with the rest of it now.” Eijun responded with a mock salute directed to his father, before rushing back upstairs for the completion of his remaining English assignment.
Upon being done with the holiday assignments, Eijun realized that there was still a bit of time until he needed to be downstairs for dinner. Yes, dinner... it was way over lunch hours by now, and because in his determination to finish up the bulk of his holiday assignments at Wakana’s place, he had told his mother that he would be taking lunch together with his friends at the Aotsuki household. Therefore, his mother didn’t prepare his share of lunch, so, his next meal time at home was dinner.
Eijun didn’t go through with his plan to request additional servings of the side dishes during lunch because the meal was taken at Wakana’s family home. So, he thought he would postpone the plan to increase his food serving until dinner tonight. Anyway, there’s still a bit of time until dinner hours come along, and now that the holiday assignments are completed. Eijun finally managed to have some free time at his disposal, and thus, he took out a new notebook and started listing down the list of things he had on his agenda to avoid forgetting about them, at a later timing.
Agenda List:
Buy baseball gear, preferably a complete set including the gloves for pitchers, infielder/outfielder & a bat for swinging practice. Balls for pitching practice [both the rubber balls used for junior high competitions & the regular baseball for high school usage if possible. If not available at the shop in town, stick to the rubber balls for now. A Pitching net so I can practice my pitching at home. Baseball cleats, I'll need a pair of these at least. Batting gloves, hmm... this can wait for a little while longer. Compression garments to help with the recovery from rigorous exercises, I think, this could wait as well. I can’t think of a convincing reason to explain to my family members why compression garments would be necessary at this stage, since, I haven’t even ‘properly’ learned baseball yet.
Look out for shops that sell customized baseball uniforms while in town, would need to know so we’ll have an easier timing getting the Akagi team uniforms ordered this time. Scratch that – good old Sano would probably have more contacts about where to order the team uniforms for us, so, I’d better let him handle this.
Test out both the old & new pitching forms that I have and check on the areas that I’ll need to practice to regain control of them both.
Test out the grips of my pitches on the balls purchased, to get a feel of how they feel right now.
Try pitching to the net to check out how good/bad my current control is. Focus on getting the fastballs/moving fastballs under control. If I can pitch to the four corners of the strike zone without issue, that should be enough for me to deal with the opponents in middle school.
Restart my training regime, I'll need a proper training menu for this. I'm not sure if the old training menu Chris-shisho prepared for me in my first year will work at present, but that’s the only one I have on hand that I could use as a reference. I think I have it memorized; I’ll write it down later and show it to the uncles playing for the local community team. Probably, they can tell me which exercise to start with since this body of mine is completely new to baseball. For now, I'll just run as a way to increase my stamina.
Work on increasing the diet portion to achieve 3 bowls of rice per meal by the time I graduate from middle school.
Find an opportunity to visit Tokyo & watch the game between Marugame Senior where Chris-shisho plays for, and the team which Miyuki was playing for. I recall Miyuki mentioning having lost to Chris-shisho before. That, and Rei-san was talking about how the only time Miyuki Kazuya had lost in his middle school days was against the team led by Chris-shisho. Hmm... I wonder if the game that got them both scouted for Seidou has happened or not.
Befriend Chris-shisho at an earlier timing, I’ll consider this as an accomplishment if I manage to get Chris-shisho to agree to give me his email address or help me create a training menu that will fit my purpose.
Try to prevent Chris-shisho from overworking to the state of injuring his shoulder. That's highly dependable on whether goal No. 9 is successful.
Bring Chris Shisho and his yearmates to Koshien!
By the time Eijun was done listing out the number of things he had on his agenda, the time was almost up for him to head back downstairs for dinner with his family members. And so, Eijun neatly set aside the new notebook which he had utilized to note down the things that he would like to achieve to change the future for the better, careful to hide it in plain view but away from prying eyes. After all, the last thing he needed was for someone else to see the things he had written in that particular notebook.
With that done, a satisfied Sawamura Eijun stood to leave his room for the dining room downstairs.
Location: Sawamura Household, Akagi Town, Nagano. 3rd January 2018, Wednesday, 8 am
Sawamura Hinako was wondering about the whereabouts of her son, Eijun when the said boy appeared from the direction of the house entrance. Raising an eyebrow slightly at the sight, she asks. “Eijun, where did you come back from?”
“Erm... I just got back from a morning jog?” Sawamura Eijun answered, sounding a tad uncertain of the current situation at hand. Inwardly, he wonders if he had got into trouble with his mother, unknowingly.
“Right, and did you happen to tell anyone about your morning jog session?” Sawamura Hinako prompted, not wanting to leap to a conclusion just yet. It'll be fine if Eijun did tell someone about his whereabouts earlier this morning, if not, the boy would be in trouble with her.
“Oh... I did tell someone about my morning jog. I met gramps just as I was on my way out for the jogging session, so, I told him that I was just going on a jog around the area. I didn’t go far though; I made sure to stay on the route that I’m familiar with.” Eijun hurried to explain, inwardly thinking that his gramps had likely forgotten to inform his mother about him going off for a morning jog session. That was probably why his mother had sounded irked when he showed up from the outside of the house, instead of coming down for breakfast from his bedroom upstairs.
“I see... next time, do leave a note behind for me as well. Your gramps often left to inspect our family rice fields in the early hours of the morning. He wouldn’t be able to inform me of your whereabouts if I didn’t happen to cross paths with him.” Sawamura Hinako stressed to her son the importance of cluing her in on his whereabouts, given how the boy was still only a 6th grader at present.
“Alright mom, I got it. I'll make sure to pen down a note for you, the next time I go jogging in the morning. By the way, is breakfast ready? I'm famished. Oh, can I get an extra serving of the rice today? I think I’ve expended a tad more energy than I was expecting after the morning jog session, so, I think I could stomach a bigger breakfast serving this morning.” Eijun said as he addressed his mother, as he set the plan of increasing his diet gradually into motion.
“Of course, but what makes you decide to go on a morning jog today?” Sawamura Hinako inquires, sounding intrigued by Eijun’s morning jog. After all, while her son’s very much an active child... the boy tends to run around only when playing with his fellow friends, and that usually happens in the afternoon. So, she’s quite surprised by the fact that her son had woke up specifically early today just to go on a morning jog session.
“Well... I woke up early and was feeling too restless to stay in the house. Added in the fact that Dad isn’t going into town until later in the morning, and I’ve already finished my holiday assignments the day before... I thought I needed to do something to distract me from my constant restlessness. So, I went for a jog.” Eijun tried to explain to his mother about his desire to go on a morning jog, without letting it slip that he was training up his stamina by going for a run in the morning.
Eijun had the intention to start his running plan last night but then he was reminded of the blatant fact that it was already dark outside by the time he had rested enough after dinner. Being a mere 12-year-old, there’s simply no way for his family members to allow him to head out for a night jog. And so, Eijun decided to opt for a morning jog instead. After all, it’ll be safer for him to go on a morning jog where there are a lot of people to witness him in the jogging act, right? At least, there isn’t a risk of him being abducted by some unknown people while out in the open daylight.
“I see, looks like you’re very eager for the shopping trip to town, huh? Since it has gotten you restless enough that you’ve to go on a morning jog to expend all that pent-up energy.” Sawamura Hinako commented as an afterthought.
“Yep! I'm excited about the shopping trip to town.” Eijun nodded his affirmation energetically.
“Fine, now go and wash up. Come back as soon as you’re done washing up, breakfast will be served shortly.” Sawamura Hinako reminded as she pointed her son toward the direction of the family’s bathroom.
Location: Generic Sports Store in Akagi Town, Nagano. 3rd January 2018, Wednesday, 11 am
The town of Akagi is a five-minute drive away from the Sawamura household, and if they were to head into town on foot. It would take them about 15 minutes, but because they have quite several things to get from the shops in town today... Sawamura Eikou had utilized the use of the family’s van. The van was usually utilized in the autumn season for the transportation of the harvested crops to the government-funded factory where the harvested crops are further processed before being packaged to ship off for sale in other parts of Japan. Today though, Sawamura Eikou would be utilizing the van for the shopping errand in town.
Just a few minutes ago, after Sawamura Eikou was done loading the new planting tools into their family van; he was dragged into the store selling sports gear by his overly excited child. Upon entering the store, a salesperson came over to greet them.
The arrival of the salesperson was a timely one because Eijun was very much overwhelmed by the way the shop had displayed its merchandise for sale. This must be one of the most unattractive sports gear stores that Eijun had the fortune of gracing his presence with. For one, there’s no separation of the sports category; the cleats for baseball and football/soccer were lumped together in one display rack. The baseball bats and the golf clubs are also placed in the same corner, and the shop has the tennis balls placed together with the softballs on display. Likewise, the soccer ball, volleyball, and basketball are also displayed in the same area.
So, even though, Eijun is pretty confident of picking out the gears he desires on his own. He decides to leave it to the salesperson for convenience's sake if nothing else.
“Good morning, how may I assist you?” The salesperson greeted as he approached the father and son duo, who had just stepped into the shop.
“Good morning, sir! I’m looking for the baseball gear.” Sawamura Eijun started before his father could say anything.
“Ah... is there anything in specific that you’re looking for?” The salesperson inquires Eijun politely as he comes up with a list of baseball gear that the shop carries for sale in the back of his mind.
“No worry, I’m not looking for anything that’s too out of the ordinary. I'm mainly looking for gear for school use. I'm planning to join the middle school’s baseball team in the new school year, but since I’m left-handed... I can’t exactly use the readily available gears that the school team might have in their storage.” Eijun then said, coming up with an excuse about why he couldn’t have used the old gears that the school usually had in their storage and had to buy his own.
“I see, and what exactly do you require? I'll see if I have them all in my store.” The salesperson nodded in acceptance of Eijun’s answer, before asking.
“I’ll need a pitcher’s glove, an infielder & outfielder’s glove, and a pair of baseball cleats to start with. Oh, I’ll need a bat for my swinging practice at home as well. As for the baseballs... I’m aiming to be a pitcher, so, it’ll be helpful if I can get some baseballs for home practice. Do you by any chance have the pitching net with strike zone for sale in your shop as well?” Eijun then started to list off the list of baseball gear he had in mind to get from the shop, while crossing his fingers and hoping that the shop would carry all of them.
“Well, you’re in luck. I think I do have everything that you desire in the shop. Now for the baseballs, do you simply want to get the rubber baseballs used in middle school or do you wish to have the regular baseball mixed in for your purchase as well?” The salesperson then asks Eijun about his preference for the baseballs that he’s looking to purchase.
“Oh, so you do have the regular baseballs for sale as well. Ah, by the way, for the rubber baseballs – I want the standard white rubber baseballs. The yellow ones are a tad too unconventional for my taste. And yes, I do want to have a few regular baseballs mixed into the purchase.” Eijun answered eagerly to the salesperson’s inquiry.
“Sure, I'll make sure to get you the white rubber balls as you requested. And yes, I do have the regular baseballs for sale in the shop. After all, this shop caters to a range of people including the local community baseball team; and as adults... they’re more familiar with the regular baseball which they’ve gotten accustomed to, following their high school experience. The rubber balls, on the other hand, are mainly catered to the local elementary and middle school.” The salesperson answered Eijun’s query with patience.
After a moment of scrambling about the shopfront and the storeroom at the back of the shop, the salesperson finally managed to get everything that Eijun wanted to purchase. Setting down the items on the counter where the cashier was, the salesperson indicated for Eijun to step forth so he could do a quick check to see if everything he wanted was available.
“Yes, that’s everything,” Eijun responded, after doing a quick inspection of the items going as far as to open up the box that held the baseballs just to double-confirm that he had a mixture of both the regular baseballs and the rubber balls. Satisfied with the items, he signaled for his father to come forth for the payment as the salesperson rang up their purchase.
If Sawamura Eikou found the amount for his son’s purchase to be alarmingly huge, he didn’t comment on it. Inwardly, he was telling himself to treat it as an investment in his son’s future. However, he did make it a point to warn his son after they left the shop.
“Eijun, I certainly hoped that you’re as serious as you claimed when it comes down to baseball. After all, given how much I’ve just paid for these baseball gears of yours; I would throttle you if you were to give up on the sports in just a few months.” Sawamura Eikou warned as he helped his son carry the purchases from the sports gear store, as they made their way to the family van.
“Of course, Dad! This, Sawamura Eijun, swear that he would never give up on baseball and will ensure that your investment in these gears paid off.” Eijun puffed his chest up in pride as he once again reverted to the use of the archaic form of speaking.
“...”
The first thing Eijun did upon arriving home was to unload his precious purchases from the sports shop into his room. He then started to sort out the purchases by setting aside the items which he was going to set up in the backyard of his family home, and the items which he was going to safe-keep in his room until required.
For instance, the pitching net needs to be set up in the backyard of his family home since there’s simply no way for him to practice his pitching in his room without breaking anything. However, where exactly in his family home’s backyard he ought to set up the pitching net is something he would need to think about. After all, he didn’t want to destroy his mother’s gardening unintentionally. Well, he has some time to consider this; since it’s not as though he could get started on his pitching practice right away. After all, he wasn’t supposed to know about pitching currently.
‘Argh... when’s the local community game happening anyway? I'm itching to pitch, but I can’t explain how my pitching form comes about nor can I explain why I know how to throw until I get a chance to see a game in action. I wonder if I could find the information online, wait a second, how am I going to do just that when I don’t have my mobile phone yet?! Hmm... if my memory is right, I’ll be getting my mobile phone only when I pass the entrance exam for Akagi Middle School. I wonder if that’s still going to happen after I’ve just spent so much on baseball gear...oh well, I’m going to be optimistic and hope that I’ll still be getting my mobile phone in March as planned.’ Eijun groaned inwardly to himself, feeling the twitch in his hands as he itched to start pitching.
With a sigh, Sawamura Eijun reached for the box of baseballs that he had just purchased with his father’s kind sponsorship earlier and took out both a rubber ball and a regular baseball. The rubber ball and the regular baseball didn’t differ much in the sizing, they are both considered smaller than the balls used by the MBL for certain. The true difference between the rubber balls used in middle school baseball tournaments and the regular baseball used for high school tournaments as well as the NPB lies in the texture/material. The rubber balls are made of rubber as its namesake depicted, whereas the regular baseball is made of leather.
‘Hmm... okay, the texture of the rubber balls is something I would need to reaccustom myself to after getting used to the feel of the regular baseball for some twenty-odd years in my mind. Well, since I couldn’t pitch now...maybe, I can just test out the grips of my pitches on the balls to get a feel of how it feels for the time-being.’ Eijun wondered to himself as he started playing around with the grips on the two different balls he had taken out from the box.
And so, Eijun spent the next hour busy testing out his grips on both the rubber balls and the regular baseballs. After an hour of fiddling around with the baseballs, Eijun refocused his attention back on the task of organizing his new purchases. He sets the box of baseballs purchased onto his study desk and places the box that contains his brand-new baseball cleats neatly underneath his bed.
Of course, everything purchased from the shop in town has been the generic no-name version as compared to the gears he used to own as an adult. However, that’s completely fine with Eijun for now. After all, he’s just starting as a baseball player in this new time-line. Besides, what he managed to get from the shop in town now is probably the best he could afford at present since he has no money of his own that he could utilize to splurge on the baseball gear.
It was during the afternoon shogi game with his gramps that Eijun was finally informed of the date for the scheduled local community baseball game. The game would be taking place on the 6th of January, Saturday, which just so happens to be the last day of the winter break for Eijun, at 10 am on the baseball field within the town’s recreation park.
So, on the morning of the 6th of January, after Eijun was done with his morning jog session and having breakfast with his family members. He started rushing for his grandfather to start heading towards the recreation park where the baseball field for their town is situated. Though Eijun might appear to be excited about the game on the outside, he truly wasn’t enthusiastic about watching a game that was to be played between two amateur teams. The only reason why he was rushing his grandfather to start getting a move on wasn’t because he was eager to watch the game, but more of the fact that he’s eager to start pitching. However, he couldn’t start up his planned training regimen until he was taught the proper way to pitch. And the pitcher for the local community team was the best solution that Eijun could come up with for his dilemma, at present.
Eijun has a plan set in mind on how he’s going to get the pitcher for the local community team to teach him, for that, he even had a rubber baseball tucked away in the pockets of his shorts, right now. Initially, he thought of bringing the regular baseball with him but ended up scrapping the idea as he would not be playing any official game with the regular baseball anytime soon. So, he thought it best to stick with the rubber baseball for now since that was going to be the baseball that he would be playing over the next few years and so, the earlier he got used to the feel of it, the better.
~TBC~