Chapter Text
“From now on, the two of you will receive individual pitching menus. The amount of practice will be twice as much as everyone else's. Good luck.”
Rei handed a sheet of paper to both Sawamura and Furuya.
Sawamura's eyes lit up as he received the sheet of paper. He has been waiting to upgrade from his training menu since middle school. And with a training menu designed just for him, he was excited about how it would improve his pitching.
“Furuya, you'll be working with Miyuki. Since you're joining the Kantou Tournament roster next week, you'll need to start building a battery with him.”
“Please take care of me, Miyuki-senpai.”
Sawamura wasn't surprised by the decision. If anything, he had expected it. Furuya had already been promoted to the first string and would be pitching in the Kantou Tournament. Building a battery with Miyuki only made sense since Miyuki is the starting catcher. Still, as he watched Miyuki casually adjust his mitt while speaking to Furuya, a strange feeling settled in his chest.
He really wants to hear the sound of the ball landing on Miyuki's mitt once again.
“Sawamura-kun, you'll be working with Chris. He'll help you improve your game-calling, batter analysis, and develop your other pitches.”
“NICE TO MEET YOU, CHRIS-SENPAI!” Sawamura immediately bowed while extending his hand.
Chris seems startled by the boy's enthusiasm and slowly reaches out to accept the handshake. “Likewise, Sawamura.”
Sawamura took a peck of Chris up close. He looked different from what Sawamura had expected of a former regular catcher; he had imagined someone intimidating or overflowing with confidence like Miyuki. Instead, Chris seemed strangely distant. His expression was calm and courteous, yet there was a black void in his eyes.
Not letting go of the handshake, Sawamura straightened up immediately, “Chris-senpai! I know there are still a lot of things I'm lacking in, but I'll listen to your advice! Please criticise me as much as you want and help me become Seidou's ace!”
Chris blinked in surprise. During the first-year game, he had already noticed Sawamura's precision and control. If he were being honest, Sawamura's ability to control the pitch was better than Furuya's, yet he lacked basic training, which made his pitch rather unstable. Chris also heard that Sawamura was the first-year student who ran every morning before the team's practice. And looking at the kid before him now, it makes sense, given his determination.
“Understood,” Chris said, shaking his hand firmly. “Let's work hard together.”
Their first session began with stretching. A distance away, Furuya was already throwing to Miyuki. Watching them from up close was different from watching a game. Furuya's fastball was overwhelmed by its power, and Miyuki caught every pitch without hesitation, compared to when some of the first-years tried to catch it. Sawamura quietly observes as an unpleasant feeling emerges. Shaken by surprise, he tried to suppress it.
Learning from different people was a privilege. Every catcher saw the game differently, and if he wanted to become Seidou's ace, he needed to absorb everything he could.
“Sawamura.”
Chris' voice immediately pulled his attention back. “Your elbow and wrist are unusually flexible. From a batter's perspective, your release point is difficult to read.”
“Yes!” Sawamura nodded enthusiastically. “When I throw naturally, the ball tends to move on its own since my arm is flexible…Landing my right foot toward home plate helps me throw more consistent strikes.”
Chris quietly wrote everything down.
“However, the cutter and two-seam still aren't stable,” Sawamura continued. “I think the problem might be the release point or my grip. Also, my top velocity is around 120 km/h, which I want to improve on as well.”
Chris looked up from his notebook.
Most first-years struggled to identify their own weaknesses. Sawamura, on the other hand, already knew and had started setting goals to eliminate them. It is such a shame that he lacks basic training; if he didn’t, with his pure talent, he could easily surpass Furuya and Tanba.
“Chris-senpai?”
“Yes?”
“Just curious, but do you want a spot in the first string as well?”
Chris stop.
“…No.”
“...I see.”
Sawamura didn't ask any further questions. Chris' face looks tense when he finishes, and it looks like an accident happened. In addition to the training menu Rei provided, Chris began giving Sawamura an additional daily training menu. He had expressed gratitude to the menu, but it seemed that Chris was unbrotherly or emotionless in his response. As they continued training, he couldn't help noticing certain things. Chris rarely demonstrated that he throws himself. Occasionally, when catching one of Sawamura's pitches, his expression would tighten ever so slightly before immediately returning to normal.
As the weeks went on, Sawamura grew increasingly annoyed with Chris' unenthusiastic responses to his questions about pitching form and grip. There was never once a compliment about his pitching or the completion of the menu. But that didn't stop Sawamura from continuing to keep trying.
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“Rei-san, did something happen to Chris-senpai?”
Rei raised an eyebrow at the sudden question.
“Why do you ask? You could always ask Chris-kun yourself.”
“Because he doesn’t answer my question…” Sawamura frowned.
The office door slid open. Miyuki entered, looked around, and spotted Sawamura kneeling before Rei.
“Hahaha! You look ridiculous kneeling there, Bakamura~”
“SHUT UP, YOU TANUKI!!”
Miyuki walked into the room, still grinning.
“Well, Chris-senpai isn't exactly the type to open up to people,” he said as he leaned against the doorway.
“I was just curious...” Sawamura muttered. “We work well together, but... sometimes I wonder if he really cares.”
Rei and Miyuki exchanged a glance.
Finally, Rei stood.
“Sawamura, come with me.”
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The taxi ride was quiet.
“In middle school, the only team Miyuki ever lost to was led by Chris,” Rei explained as the scenery passed by outside the window. “He became Seidou's regular catcher from his first year and was considered one of the most promising players in the team. Everyone expected great things from him.”
Sawamura listened silently. “But Chris-kun continued to hide a shoulder injury and played through it. By the time it was discovered… it was already too late.”
The taxi eventually stopped in front of a rehabilitation centre. As soon as Sawamura stepped inside, he was surprised. Chris was there. Sweat poured down his face as he slowly lifted a dumbbell with trembling arms. Every movement looked painful.
Sawamura starred. ‘This was not the same calm, distant senpai he trained with every day; he looked desperate.’
“Just before the summer tournament,” Rei said quietly beside him, “Chris-kun was diagnosed with a torn subscapularis tendon and damage to part of his pronator quadratus. The doctors told him he would need to spend an entire year rehabilitating.”
Sawamura's eyes widened. “A year...?”
“In a school like Seidou,” Rei continued, “taking a year off is almost the same as announcing your retirement.”
Almost as if sensing their presence, Chris looked up. Before Rei could stop him, Sawamura ran across the room.
“CHRIS-SENPAI!” Sawamura stopped directly in front of him. His eyes were already beginning to water.
“WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?!”
Chris blinked in surprise.
“You could have told me directly!” Sawamura shouted, wiping furiously at his eyes. “I thought you didn't like baseball anymore! I thought you didn't want to be here!”
“If you had told me, I could've been more supportive!” His voice cracked. “We're partners, aren't we?!”
Sawamura lowered his head. “I know we haven't known each other for long,” he muttered, “but you've been helping me every single day. You gave me advice and helped me gain a deeper understanding of baseball. You stayed after training to catch up with me. You help me with deciding pitches in situations.” His fists tightened. “So don't carry everything by yourself, Chris-senpai.”
“I WANT TO HELP YOU TOO!!”
Chris stared at the first-year student in front of him. For years, people had looked at him with pity. Others treated him as if he had already retired. But this loud, emotional pitcher standing before him...
He was crying because he hadn't been allowed to share the burden. More amusingly, a faint scent had begun to leak from Sawamura without him even noticing. Warm earth after rain mixed with the gentle sweetness of sunflowers drifted through the rehabilitation room, instinctively trying to comfort the person in front of him.
Slowly, Chris smiled.
“...You're an unusual pitcher, Sawamura.”
“OF COURSE I AM!” Sawamura immediately shouted back. “I'M GOING TO BECOME SEIDOU'S ACE!”
Chris let out a quiet laugh. For the first time in a long while, he laughed.
“CHRIS! I TOLD YOU TO FOCUS ON YOUR REHABILITATION AND THE SUMMER TOURNAMENT!” a tall foreign man shouted as he approached. “WHO IS THIS KID? IS SEIDOU TRYING TO FORCE YOU BACK ONTO THE FIELD?”
Chris glanced toward Sawamura, who was still sniffling as tears clung stubbornly to the corners of his eyes. Yet despite that, his golden eyes shone brightly with determination.
“No,” Chris said softly. “It's alright.”
Before his injury, Chris had believed that once he could no longer play, he would only become a burden to the team. He had even thought the coaches were simply taking pity on him by allowing him to remain as a manager. But Sawamura had given him hope that even if he could no longer stand on the field himself, he could still nurture a rough gemstone into something brilliant.
“Sawamura,” Chris said, smiling.
“Thank you.”
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Chris began to smile more after that.
Over the following weeks, Sawamura found himself following Chris around even more than before, much to the older boy's exasperation. In Sawamura's defence, he just wanted Chris to be ‘happier’ by supporting as much as he could. It became so noticeable that even Kanemaru pointed out that Sawamura's scent had started carrying traces of Chris'.
Chris smelled faintly of aged cedar and worn leather—calming and reassuring. Somehow, it always helped settle Sawamura whenever he became frustrated over his pitches.
Learning game-calling and batter analysis was difficult. It took Sawamura time to answer Chris' scenarios correctly, especially since most of his baseball knowledge had come from magazines, self-study (watching baseball games), and Miyuki's childhood lessons. There were still many gaps in his understanding. However, with Chris' guidance and occasional advice from Coach Kataoka—who had once caught Sawamura shadow pitching alone at night—his fundamentals gradually improved. The 'wall method' in particular had helped stabilise his pitching form considerably.
“Sawamura, I'll be leaving now.”
“OKAY! THANK YOU FOR TODAY!”
Chris turned and walked away. Sawamura made no move to follow and continued to practice shadow pitching on his own.
Chris paused.
He isn't following me today.
For some reason, the thought left Chris feeling strangely lonely.
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With the sound of cicadas growing louder, the end of June arrived along with the final evaluation game that would determine the remaining spots on Seidou’s first string. The summer heat hung heavily on the field on that day. Around the dugouts, players stretched in silence while others adjusted their gloves for what could be the most important game of their lives.
Everyone had something to prove.
Before the game started, Chris and Sawamura were going over the numbers as Coach Kaotaka approached.
“Sawamura, today you will be the starting pitcher.” With a louder and more serious tone, he said, “This is the last chance to prove yourself to be in the first string.”
“YES, BOSS!” Sawamura stands his ground, as he, too, understands the importance of today's match, proving all his hard work to show not only the coach but also Chris.
“If I may, boss!”
“Yes, Sawamura.”
“I would like Chris to be my partner!”
Both of them seem to be surprised by the request. It was known that Chris' arm was improving, but it was far from being recovered. Additionally, Chris had not been properly trained for over a year so it would be a risk to the team.
“You know we can’t, Sawamura. It is also for Chris' well-being.”
Sawamura swallows bitterly as he wants Chris to catch his pitches. But he also wants to show Chris his improvement over the month of Chris's guiding.
“I’M GOING TO LET THEM HIT THE BALL. THE REST IS UP TO YOU GUYS!!” Sawamura’s voice exploded across the field as he stood atop the mound.
“WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!!” Maezono immediately shouted back at the ridiculousness of it. While a few players laughed alongside Haruichi, who simply smiled.
The umpire then raised his arm and shouted, “PLAY BALL!”
The catcher signals a fast-moving ball. Sawamura nodded. His right leg lifted before his body rotated forward in one smooth motion. The ball exploded from his fingertips and cut through the air toward home plate. It should have landed perfectly in the strike zone.
Instead, the catcher fumbled. The ball smacked against the edge of the mitt before kicking away toward the backstop.
“FOUL!”
Everyone's eyes widened at the movement. ‘Sawamura winds up as the pitch leaves his body, his right hand forms a wall as he presses his strength on his left joint and fingertip. The ball bounced off the catcher's mitt as if it were a foul.’
It shouldn’t have been a foul. Chris thought to himself.
By the end of the first inning, there were 3 runs given. The team returned to the dugout, frustration lingering on their faces. A few players shot irritated glances toward Sawamura, unable to tell whether the problem was the pitcher or the catcher.
“He can’t catch any of Sawamura's pitches.” The world left Chris before he realised it. Coach Katoaka examines the situation as he directs his gaze at Chris. “It isn’t Sawamura's fault. The catcher reacts after the movement instead of before it.”
“Coach”, Chris' voice was calm, “Please let Sawamura continue pitching!”
The situation was already ugly. It was in the team's best interest to switch out Sawamura.
“Chris…” Kaotaka stared at him, “You’ve been working with Sawamura for months now. Only you could bring out his potential.”
Chris glanced down at his arm before looking back toward the mound. Despite the score, despite the complaints coming from the field, despite the mistakes piling up around him, the first-year was still shouting encouragement toward his teammates. His voice carried across the diamond while the summer sun reflected brightly off his grin as if nothing had happened at all.
Chris found himself remembering the rehabilitation centre.
The first-year student who had run across the room with tears in his eyes.
"We're partners, aren't we?!"
The words still lingered somewhere in the back of his mind. Since then, Sawamura had followed him everywhere while still smiling and training harder than ever. Even when exhausted, he somehow found enough energy to ask more questions about his form. There were days when Chris found him irritating beyond belief. Yet there was never a moment when Sawamura stopped trying.
A warm breeze drifted across the field, carrying with it the familiar scent Chris had gradually become accustomed to over the past few months. Warm earth after rain mixed with the faint sweetness of sunflowers. The scent had appeared countless times during training whenever Sawamura became excited about a new pitch or finally understood a concept Chris had spent an hour explaining.
Chris drifts his gaze to Sawamura as he is still pitching. Sawamura's gaze still burns under the sun.
[Changing Catcher TAKIGAWA]
Sawamura froze before his eyes widened in disbelief.
“CHRIS-SENPAI?!”
Chris pulled on the catcher's gear and stepped onto the field. The noise around him slowly faded as he settled into position behind home plate. The dirt beneath his cleats felt familiar. Everyone on the team was in disbelief at the Coach's decision, but they could not voice their opinions.
“FOCUS ON THE MITT SAWAMURA!” Chris carried a confident voice.
“YES!”
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To everyone's surprise, Sawamura's pitching improved dramatically the moment Chris replaced the catcher. Throughout the second inning, Chris gave everything he had to the game. With Chris able to analyse the situation and using Sawamura's pitches, he moved the game and settled into a rhythm as Chris directed the defence exactly where he wanted it. Under his guidance, the infield shifted closer, the outfield adjusted their positions, and Sawamura continued attacking the zone with his moving fastball and four-seam.
A shout suddenly echoed from beyond the fence.
“CHRIS!”
Standing amongst the spectators was Chris' father.
“What are you doing?! Why are you playing?! Oi, Yuu!”
A smile appeared on Chris' face. He turned around, raising both his hands, and shouted, “THE MATCH IS JUST BEGINNING!”The word echoed throughout the field, making everyone turn, “LET DESTROY THEM!”
Everyone was stunned by Chris' loudness. Chris wanted to show his dad his passion and decision to play a final game, sticking with the team he's been training alongside for three years.
“HAHAHA!” Sawamura nearly doubled over. “SO CHRIS-SENPAI CAN SHOUT!”
Chris immediately pointed at him. “Shut up and pitch!” Chris blushed even harder. The dugout erupted into chaos as the energy improved. For the first time in months, his son looked happy.
Under Chris' leadership, the defence stabilised while the offence began creating opportunities. Haruichi in particular quietly demonstrated why so many upper-level students had begun paying attention to him. Whether it was his fielding or his batting, he consistently delivered when the team needed him most. More than once, his precise bat control brought runners home and narrowed the gap on the scoreboard.
As the third inning approaches, Sawamura and Chris are both ready for their final partnership together. Chris, while looking at Sawamura, was mesmerised by the young boy's optimistic vision. Even though Sawamura is short-sighted, he focuses on the present with the hope of bringing out his best in any situation he’s in.
The first string can only select two players from today's performance. That seems to have completely slipped your mind, though, Sawamura.
A quiet laugh escaped him.
But...I think that attitude saved me.
Sawamura raised his leg.
This was the final batter of the inning. More than anything, he wanted to show Chris that all the hours they had spent together weren't wasted.
His body drove forward as his left arm whipped through the air. The baseball exploded from his fingertips and raced toward the plate. The batter reacted immediately, committing fully to the swing as he recognised the trajectory. The ball cut sharply toward the inside edge at the very last moment.
THUD!
A success cutter.
“STRIKE THREE! BATTER OUT!”
Chris stared down at the baseball resting inside his glove. A small smile appeared on his face before he could stop.
“NICE BALL SAWAMURA!”
Across the mound, Sawamura was practically vibrating with excitement. “CHRIS COMPLEMENTED ME!”
“IT’S THAT WHAT YOU ARE HAPPY ABOUT?!” Haruichi laughs in surprise as they change sides.
For the rest of the game, both Chris and Sawamura were kept on the bench. The coach called everyone to the training ground that evening. Sawamura was sweating at the palms of his hands while waiting for the coach's announcement.
“The two final players will be added to the first string.”
Holding his breath, Sawamura waited for the announcement.
“Sawamura Eijun, first year and Kominato Haruichi, also first year !”
He was in the first string. As he glanced at the back of Chris, a feeling of devastation came over him.
Chris won’t be playing for the rest of the summer alongside him.
It was the reality he hadn't hoped for. But he wished for just a little more: that Chris would stay as his partner.
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The corner of his lips twitched upward. As he remembered the game yesterday. Sawamura have proven himself as a pitcher. For a pitch that had been incomplete only weeks ago, its improvement was obvious. It still wasn't reliable enough to be a true weapon, but the fact that Sawamura had thrown it successfully in a high-pressure situation was enough to make it worth noting.
"What are you looking at so seriously?"
Miyuki didn't bother looking up.
"The scorebook from Kokushi’s game."
Kuramochi pulled out the chair beside him and sat down.
"I didn’t expect Sawamura to make it into the first string that easily. He was crying all night yesterday." Kuromochi grinned as he looked directly at Miyuki, "Well, isn't that all thanks to Chris-senpai?"
A small smile appeared on Miyuki's face.
"Partly."
Kuramochi raised an eyebrow.
"Partly?"
Miyuki flipped the page. "Sawamura's the type of pitcher who throws with his feelings. He gets excited when someone praises him. Gets frustrated when things don't work. If somebody puts faith in him, he'll work twice as hard to live up to it."
Kuramochi immediately laughed. "That's definitely him."
For a brief moment, he found himself remembering a small field in Nagano. A loud kid with terrible control. Endless mornings of running. A promise to become a better pitcher. Five years had passed since then. Yet somehow, every time he looked at Sawamura, it felt like no time had passed at all.
"Seems like it's going to be a hot summer." Miyuki stood up, tucking the scorebook under his arm.
And for the first time in a while, he was genuinely looking forward to it.
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