Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

That night, when Okumura shared with Seto, Asada, and Kuki the current situation of Sawamura, they arrived with a plan to address the problem. The goal is to make sure that their beloved ace and captain will not be alone during the entire winter break. 

Since it's winter break, it would be impossible for everyone to visit Sawamura in the hospital. So the first thing they came up with was to compile recorded messages for the pitcher. They already talked with the managers and explained Sawamura's predicament. Umemoto agreed with the plan and informed the first years that they would handle everything.

"Okumura, thank you for telling us about Sawamura," Umemoto said with a smile as she patted the boy's shoulder. "I'll make sure that our boys will give Sawamura inspiring messages. Lately, that boy's been feeling down all by himself. Geez. If only he could just rely on us even more."

"Is it really okay, Umemoto-senpai? Aren't you busy with preparation for college entrance exams?" Okumura asked hesitantly.

"Don't mind the small details, Okumura!" replied Umemoto. "I don't plan to study during winter break anyway. I have my own schedule to follow."

"Okay, if you say so. Then, I'll leave this task to you and the rest of the managers. Thank you very much," Okumura said as he bowed politely towards the managers.

After their short meeting, Umemoto borrowed a video camera to record games. Kariba, who was now in charge of the device, was curious but decided not to ask. However, his curiosity was later answered when Haruno came looking for the baseball players in their class.

It was the beginning of lunch break when Haruno came rushing to their room. Toujou, Haruichi, and Kariba were about to eat at the cafeteria when Haruno called them.

"I'm so sorry for taking your time during your break, but this is really important. I have to gather your messages because this will be the last day of school for this year," Haruno started explaining.

She was the one tasked to collect messages for her batchmates, after all.

"Messages? For who?" Kariba asked.

"For Sawamura," Haruno replied immediately.

"What do you mean, Yoshikawa-san? If it's Sawamura, we already visited yesterday, though," Toujou said.

Haruno began explaining the reason to which the three complied.

"No worries, Yoshikawa-san. We'll cooperate with your request," Haruichi replied with a smile. "I do have a lot of things I wanted to tell that guy, but I'll try my best to make it as short as possible."

Kariba and Toujou couldn't help but flinch at Haruichi's reaction upon learning that Sawamura kept it a secret that he'd be staying at the hospital during the entire winter break.

It took 15 minutes for them to finish the recording. After that, Haruno thanked them and bade them goodbye. Luckily, she met Takatsu while she was on her way to her classroom and asked him to give a message. The new first baseman was hesitant but decided to get on with it since he couldn't visit him at the hospital. 

Once done with Takatsu, Haruno proceeded to ask Kanemaru and Furuya to give their messages. She thought that maybe she could ask the entire class to share their greetings. She explained to them the reason briefly, which they accepted readily. At that time, Akana was listening to Haruno. 

"Sawamura will be spending the entire winter break at the hospital alone?" Akane asked in a worried tone.

"Y-Yes," Haruno replied. "That's what one of our players heard when they went to the hospital to see Sawamura-kun."

"That idiot," Akane commented. "He didn't tell me anything when I went to visit him."

"I understand your frustration, Yamamoto-san," Kanemaru said upon noticing the frustration on his classmate's face. "It's always like that with him. Sawamura always failed to say what's really important."

Akane just smiled at Kanemaru. But there's no time to be frustrated. All she needed to do was make sure that she'd be able to help Sawamura with everything she's got. So after the class finished recording their well wishes for Sawamura, Akane asked Haruno to meet the person who heard the entire conversation back at the hospital. 

Haruno agreed and invited her to join the meeting after practice. They needed to compile the videos altogether once they gathered all the messages from the entire team. Akane also volunteered to help with their plan. Kanemaru agreed as soon as he came to know Sawamura's secret.

When classes were finished, the managers didn't waste even a single second gathering as many messages as they could from the players of Seidou. Umemoto was also helping them, making Takashima wonder what they've been doing.

"Umemoto-kun, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be busy with your studies?" Takashima asked.

Taken by surprise, Umemoto wasn't able to answer immediately. But, the way their previous meeting went, it's not part of their plan to get the coaching staff involved. 

"That's..." Umemoto began as she tried to hide the video camera on her back. 

Takashima let out a small sigh as she tried to understand the situation. She already noticed that the managers were doing something behind their back with other baseball players. 

"I won't be angry, so it's okay to tell me," Takashima spoke calmly. "If it's something that I can help with, then I am very much willing to cooperate."

At that time, Okumura and the other first-years arrived at the room to check the progress of their plan. After that, Kanemaru and the other second years along with Akane came as well. All of them were surprised when they saw Takashima talking to Umemoto while the rest of the managers were panicking at her sudden presence.

Okumura decided to come forward and explain everything to their assistant coach.

"I apologize for not informing you of this matter, Takashima-san," Okumura said as soon as he's done explaining what he had heard.

"There's nothing to apologize, Okumura-kun," Takashima replied. "There's nothing we can do about that boy's stubbornness after all."

The students were glad that Takashima did not get angry for keeping Sawamura's situation a secret. Instead, she asked them their plan and what they've done so far. She then explained that it would be better to do something about Sawamura's parents and that she'd be the one to contact them instead. 

"Uhm, Takashima-sensei, if you don't mind me asking, what's your plan for Sawamura-kun's parents?" Akane asked.

"I'll ask them to go to Tokyo," Takashima replied without hesitation. "Sawamura-kun might not like it, but I can't allow him to be all alone in the hospital while he's recuperating. I understand that he wouldn't want to bother his parents, but that's just how it is."

"Uhm, my family would want to be of help to Sawamura-kun," Akane began. "We were supposed to celebrate Christmas here in Tokyo, and we already booked a nearby hotel. But there were some changes with our schedule, and we will be spending Christmas in a different location. So if it's alright with you, I want to give the reservation to Sawamura's family."

"Are you okay with that, Yamamoto-san?" Takashima asked.

"Of course!" Akane replied immediately. "My parents were not able to visit Sawamura yet, but they also wanted to thank him personally for saving me. Besides, I already called them, and they agreed to give the hotel reservation to them. I just needed the confirmation that Sawamura's parents will be going to Tokyo so we can arrange to update the reservation on their behalf."

"If you insist, then I'll inform Sawamura's parents right now."

Umemoto and the rest couldn't help but be glad that they'll be able to do something about Sawamura's parents. To be honest, that was the hardest part. And with the help of Takashima and Akane, it was addressed somehow.

Takashima asked Akane to accompany her as they went straight to her office to contact Sawamura's parents. 

"I apologize for the disturbance, Sawamura-san. I'm Takashima Rei, the one who scouted your son back in Nagano," the assistant coach introduced.

"Oh, Takashima-sensei!" Sawamura's mom responded. "How's Eijun doing?"

"Actually, I called regarding Eijun's condition," Takashima began. "I only learned that he told you not to visit him while he's in Tokyo, but I don't think that's a good idea. It might seem that I might be stepping off my boundary, but I believe it would be best for you to be here as he recovers."

"Thank you, Takashima-sensei," Sawamura's mom said in a calm voice. "I'm glad that's what you thought too."

There was a slight pause before Sawamura's mom proceeded to speak.

"Actually, we were planning to go to Tokyo without letting Eijun know. He'll just insist that we don't visit anyway, so we thought it would be best not to let him know. We've already booked our tickets for the 24th. We'll be arriving in the afternoon."

Takashima and Akane couldn't help but smile at the news. 

"I see, that's good to hear, Sawamura-san," Takashima replied. "I'll be escorting you to your hotel when you arrive in Tokyo."

"Oh, there's no need for that," Sawamura's mom politely declined. "We wouldn't want to be a bother to the school staff."

"That's okay, Sawamura-san. I insist," Takashima continued. "As for your hotel reservation, if you haven't booked a place yet, we already have a place prepared for you."

"But that's too much! We couldn't ask the school to pay for our hotel. They've been paying for my son's hospital fees already. We wouldn't want to impose any further."

"The hotel reservation was not provided by the school," Takashima explained.

"Huh? Then who provided it?"

Takashima nodded at Akane so she could speak to Sawamura's mother.

"Hi, Sawamura-san. My name is Yamamoto Akane," the girl introduced politely. "I'm the student that was saved by your son."

"Oh, it's nice to meet you, Akane-chan. I'm just glad that you're doing fine," Sawamura's mom replied.

"Thank you, Sawamura-san," Akane smiled. "If you don't mind, I'll be direct to the point. I want your family to accept the hotel reservation that we previously made. We won't be using it due to some change in plans on our schedule. I wanted to help Eijun-kun as much as possible. This might be a small thing compared to what he has done for me. So please, allow me to help Eijun-kun by accepting my selfish request."

Sawamura's mom laughed a little bit after hearing how desperate Akane was in helping her son.

"Sorry, Akane-chan," Sawamura's mom spoke gently. "You just kinda remind me of my son. He's really stubborn, you know. That kid."

"I agree with you on that, Sawamura-san," Akane replied with a smile.

"If you insist, then we'll take you up on your offer," Sawamura's mom accepted.

After that, Takashima informed Sawamura's mom that they'd meet them at the station. She explained that the team was planning a surprise for their son, and it would be better if they joined as well. After the call, Akane contacted her parents to change the name of the reserved room so there would be no issues upon their arrival. 

And with that, they were able to address Sawamura's parents. The managers volunteered to edit the video to compile everyone's greetings. They went on with their meeting that entire night. By tomorrow, the winter break will finally start. It might be challenging to meet up since most students will return home. As for the surprise party budget, all the members chipped in some little money to buy something for Sawamura. 

"Okay, so we have the messages compiled. Sawamura's parents agreed to cooperate for the surprise party as well," Umemoto stated. "We also have enough funds for the food. The only remaining thing we need to confirm is who will be joining the party."

"As much as I'd like to, I will be returning home together with my brother," Haruichi said, feeling sad at the fact that he won't be by his best friend's side.

"It's okay, Kominato. You're not from Tokyo anyway, so it's understandable. The same thing goes for Furuya," Kanemaru spoke. "If it's only for two hours, Toujou and I can manage somehow."

Akane then raised her hand to change the gloomy mood.

"I'll be joining the party! I'll drop by with my parents before we leave Tokyo," Akane said. "They wanted to meet Sawamura-kun anyway."

"I think that would be enough for the second year," Umemoto mentioned as she wrote down the list of names. "These first years will be joining too. We wouldn't want to be disturbing the entire hospital anyway."

"Come to think of it, how did you manage to get the hospital to agree to conduct a party?" Haruno asked while some of the first-year managers were busy editing the video.

"That's something you have to ask Koushuu," Seto said with pride as he placed his arms around the catcher's shoulder.

"Taku, you were there too, so why don't you explain it yourself?"

"Geez. You're not being honest at all," Seto couldn't help but laugh at his best friend.

Seto explained what they did yesterday to save the catcher from getting more embarrassed.

"Okumura noticed that the nurses were getting along well with Sawamura. So we went back to the hospital yesterday without letting Sawamura-senpai know. We told him that he would be alone in his room during Christmas, so we asked if we could throw a surprise party for him."

"Ohh." were the only response from others.

"That's my reaction too. The nurses obtained permission from the management, but we had to ensure we wouldn't be staying too late. We wouldn't want to disturb other patients after all."

"To think that the nurses would even cooperate to your plan, huh," Toujou commented.

"It was Koushuu who suggested that we ask the nurses for help," Seto added.

"Nice play, Okumura," Umemoto said as she patted the boy's shoulder.

"I didn't do anything much," Okumura explained. "I just noticed how the nurses seemed to look out for Sawamura-senpai during our visit. He's just that kind of guy. Even if he didn't mean to, people always tend to look out for him."

Kanemaru and the rest smiled at Okumura's statement. They couldn't agree more.

"And that includes you, am I right?" Akane teased as she noticed Okumura's awkward behavior.

"That's..." was the only thing Okumura could reply as he began emitting his wolf-like aura.

Seto, Asada, and Kuki began laughing because they knew that Okumura was always looking out for Sawamura as well. Despite their previous disagreement, they grew closer since Okumura became a first-string member. Even in a short time that they knew each other, Okumura can read Sawamura like an open book. When something's bothering him, Okumura's there to assist him. When Sawamura feels anxious, he always knows what to tell the older boy. 

He takes note of Sawamura's favorites, his behavior on and off the field, and how he could easily make friends with other people without exerting too much effort. When Sawamura feels down, he's always trying to do something about it, even if it's just indirectly. Seto remembered when Sawamura was alone, sitting on the stairs and mumbling to himself. After that, Okumura went immediately to their room to speak to their captain to check on Sawamura. When Sawamura was still a relief pitcher, Okumura would spend more time catching for him since he became a first-string catcher compared with the other pitchers.

Seto was glad that they came to Seidou. After what happened with their previous coach back in middle school, he was afraid that his best friend might end up hating baseball. Koushuu continued playing, though, but he wasn't having fun anymore. But this time was different - there was a spark in Koushuu's eyes the first time he caught Sawamura's pitches. And because the pitcher accepted his best friend for who he was, Koushuu was having fun again. Others might not notice, but his best friend was having the most fun when he was crouched at the catcher's box while Sawamura was standing on the mound. 

So if there's one person in Seidou that Seto's the most grateful to, that would be Sawamura. 

"Koushuu, it's okay, to be honest, once in a while," Seto teased the catcher.

"Grr.."

The rest continued laughing while Okumura continued looking at Seto like he was about to kill him.

"Okay, let's leave Okumura alone for now," Umemoto spoke as she continued checking the tasks that needed attention.

"Uhm, Umemoto-senpai," one of the first-year managers called.

"Hmm? What is it?" Umemoto asked.

"We've already compiled all the videos in a single file. But we've noticed that some videos might be missing?"

"What do you mean?"

The first-year managers looked at one another before replying. 

"Miyuki-senpai and Kuramochi-senpai's messages were not included. We were just wondering why it's not here since those two seemed close with Sawamura-senpai."

"Ah! I almost forgot!" Umemoto exclaimed.

"What is it, senpai?"

"Can you believe those two? I went to their dorm right after classes. I informed them about Sawamura, but they refused to give their messages! Just how awkward can those two idiots be? If it's Miyuki, it's still understandable, but to think Kuramochi would refuse as well. Don't you think that's too cold of them? It's not like we're going to post their videos somewhere public. Geez."

Umemoto was fuming as soon as she recalled what had happened that time.

"Well, we can't really force them if they don't want to. Maybe Miyuki-senpai and Kuramochi-senpai were planning to send their own messages personally to Sawamura," Kanemaru tried to reason out to appease Umemoto's anger. 

"I couldn't be happier if that was the case, Kanemaru," Umemoto replied as she let out a deep sigh.

After they finished editing the video, Kanemaru and Toujou asked the other freshmen's contacts to meet ahead of time on the 24th so they could prepare the things needed for the party. Takashima accompanied the managers and Akane in going home because it was already a bit late. 

"Thank you, everyone, for your cooperation," Kanemaru spoke before returning to their respective dorms. "See you on the 24th then. If there are things that you think we have forgotten to take care of, just send a message to the Line group chat I created. We'll see what we can do about it."

"Yes, sir," the freshmen students replied in unison.

Before Okumura could leave, Kanemaru couldn't help but call out to him.

"Okumura," Kanemaru started. "Thank you."

"What for, Kanemaru-senpai?"

"For letting us know about Sawamura," Kanemaru replied as he tried to hide his embarrassment. "You've always been looking out for him since you became a first-string catcher. It may look like I'm dumping my responsibilities on you but, please continue taking care of that idiot. If left on his own, he might do something reckless again. So I'm counting on you to stop him if he's pushing himself too hard."

Okumura bowed at Kanemaru.

"I intend to continue doing that. Sawamura-senpai is my pitcher after all."

The second-year players smiled at Okumura as he turned his back and returned to his dorm.

The 24th of December has come. Kanemaru, Toujou, and Akane were the only second years to join the party. They planned to meet Seto and the others to buy the foods they needed to buy. They met at lunchtime. They ate somewhere first and went on with their remaining tasks before the party. It was scheduled to start at 4 PM. Akane asked Sawamura's mom's contact, so she'd know when they would arrive. 

"Sawamura's parents already arrived," Akane reported as soon as she received a message. "Takashima-sensei picked them up at the station and are now headed to the hotel. We can drop by at their room once we're done buying the things we need for the party."

The boys nodded at Akane. After eating their lunch, they bought some Christmas-themed party decors and Christmas cake. They also bought some drinks and other foods they could eat during the party. Fortunately, Sawamura was not prohibited from eating anything, so they didn't overthink what to buy. 

"Are you sure this is enough? So far, we have chicken, pasta, pizza, and Christmas cake," Akane spoke as she checked the foods they bought so far. 

"Sawamura-senpai is fine with anything so long as it's not natto," Okumura replied nonchalantly.

"Heh. You really knew a lot of things about Sawamura-kun," Akane teased the catcher once more. "You must be really close."

"Grr..."

The group just laughed and went on with their shopping. It took them almost two hours to buy everything. After that, they went straight to the hotel to meet Sawamura's parents. They had a brief introduction and went on with the plan for the surprise party.

They need to be at the hospital by 3:30 PM. They at least need 30 minutes to prepare the room and the food. Sawamura's check-up was scheduled at that time, so he wouldn't be in the room. Kanemaru brought his laptop where the video was currently saved. They plan let Sawamura watch it before they could leave the hospital. They also need to go home for Christmas so they wouldn't be staying too long. The most important thing is that Sawamura's family will be there for him.

While everyone was busy preparing for Christmas Eve, Sawamura was all cooped up in his room. He was trying to ease his boredom by reading the manga brought by Asada. After spending a few hours reading, he received a video call from Wakana and his friends from Nagano. They greeted him and informed him to go home once fully healed. Of course, they knew Sawamura's parents were already in Tokyo, and they somehow managed to keep it a secret from the pitcher when he requested to see them on the video. 

Sawamura talked with his friends for almost an hour. At least, even if he failed to go home, his former teammates did not forget to send them their greetings. Of course, it's a bit sad that they couldn't see him face to face, but there's no point in complaining. He didn't regret saving Akane and her baby, and he wouldn't regret it now.

The boy continued with his reading. His phone kept vibrating as he received many messages from his classmates and teammates. His eyes went all sparkly when he received a one from his beloved shishou. He even took a screenshot of it and saved it on his cloud. 

The pitcher was grinning like an idiot when he received another message. This time, it was from Amahisa. After that, their Line group chat became bombarded with long conversations because the genius pitcher finally added Raichi, Sanada, and even Narumiya to the group. 

Needless to say, there were bickerings in between, but they managed to greet one another at the end. Then, they sent some photos of what they're currently doing. Raichi sent some pictures of gifts he received from his classmates, while Amahisa sent a photo of him and his girlfriend. After that, they chatted for quite a while. Sawamura couldn't help but be thankful because it somehow helped him forget his lonely state. 

At around 10 AM, an activity was conducted in the hospital's lobby. He decided to watch since he didn't have anything to do anyway. He played with some kids when they recognized him as Seidou's ace pitcher. Some kids couldn't help but admire him. Some even asked the pitcher to sign their baseballs.

Sawamura later found out that most of the kids confined at the hospital had been staying there for quite a while now. Some parents were happy that Sawamura spent some time with the kids. The pitcher was even invited to their respective rooms to join their humble feasts. However, he politely declined because he felt he was intruding. 

One of the nurses came to Sawamura's rescue and pretended that he was scheduled for a check-up. While on their way to his room, the boy couldn't help but feel sad about the kids. They wanted to go to different places, but they couldn't because their body wouldn't allow it. At least for him, he only needed to stay for a short while. And once he's healed, he can go back to playing baseball again. 

"I'm so sorry about that, Sawamura-kun," the nurse pushing his wheelchair finally spoke.

"Eh? What're you apologizing for?"

"It seems to me that you have a very kind nature," the nurse started explaining. "Letting you see those kids might have been too painful for you."

Sawamura smiled bitterly as he confirmed the nurse's keen observation.

"I feel sad for those children. And I felt helpless because there's nothing I could do for them," Sawamura said as he wiped the tears off his eyes. "But I don't pity them. As a matter of fact, I admired them. I admired their optimism towards life. They are very strong-willed kids. So I'm just glad I got to meet all of them."

"Sawamura-kun, I could say the same to you," the nurse replied with a smile as she gently tapped the boy's shoulder.

"Thank you," Sawamura beamed in response.

After Sawamura ate his lunch, he decided to sleep to kill some time. He was secretly hoping that by the time he woke up would be the next day. Because, unlike the previous years, he didn't have something to look forward to.

Meanwhile, at the hotel, Sawamura's family and the Seidou students were busy packing things that are needed to be brought to the hospital. They left the hotel at 3 and arrived 5 minutes earlier than planned. Thankfully, one of the nurses in charge of Sawamura managed to meet them at the entrance and advise them on the proper timing to enter the room. 

Sawamura was woken up by one of the nurses at around 3:30 to have his check-up.

Oh, right. I almost forgot about that.

Still feeling a bit sleepy, Sawamura followed the nurse's instructions obediently. He was too out of it that he did not notice a group of people just a few meters away from his room when he exited his room.

"Is my son alright?" Sawamura's mom couldn't help but ask when she saw the boy.

"Your son is doing fine, Sawamura-san. He was sleeping before you arrived, so he has just woken up," the nurse explained. "He's no longer experiencing headaches, and his sprained ankle is recovering quickly. He'll be allowed to walk in 2-3 days."

The group let out a sigh of relief upon hearing Sawamura's condition. They were glad to know that he was recovering just fine. 

"No time to waste then! Let's fix his room now so we can surprise him successfully!" Sawamura's grandpa exclaimed as he entered the room.

The rest of the group followed suit.

Sawamura's family busied themselves preparing the food on a table lent by the hospital. At the same time, the Seidou students decorated the entire room.

It took the group only 20 minutes to prepare everything. They were already at their respective positions as they patiently waited for Sawamura's arrival. 

Ten minutes before 4 PM, someone knocked at the door.

"Sawamura, I'm coming in," the boy outside the room spoke.

Everyone was surprised when Kuramochi entered the room.

"Kuramochi-senpai??" the Seidou players shouted in unison except for Okumura.

"O-Oh," Kuramochi replied, slightly taken aback by the number of people inside Sawamura's room. "I didn't know there was supposed to be a party. I was only informed you'd be giving Sawamura a recorded greeting."

"That doesn't matter! Sawamura will be happy if you're here!" Kanemaru replied enthusiastically.

Toujou couldn't help but smile at his best friend's reaction. He worried that Sawamura would feel sad if none of the third-years joined the party. And now that Kuramochi, the pitcher's former roommate and one of the senpai's he's closest with, is here, he couldn't be happier.

"Stand here, Kuramochi-senpai. Hold this!" Kanemaru was grinning like an idiot as he handed over a party popper to the former vice-captain. "Sawamura will be here in a few minutes. Please turn on the lights once he entered, okay?"

"O-okay," was the only thing Kuramochi could say as Kanemaru went back immediately to his own position. 

After everyone reconfirmed their positions and what they were supposed to do when Sawamura arrived, Kuramochi turned off the light as they waited quietly.

In the vicinity, they can hear Sawamura's familiar loud voice. He seemed to be talking to one of the nurses accompanying him back to his room. 

"Sawamura-kun, could you open the door for me, please," the nurse instructed.

"Sure thing!" Sawamura responded with enthusiasm as he pried open the room.

Sawamura noticed that the room was dark. He couldn't remember turning off the lights when he left. But then again, he was too sleepy and might have just forgotten.

He turned his back so he could turn on the lights when he heard a flick of a switch and sudden shouts emanating from the entire room.

"Merry Christmas, Eijun [Sawamura][Sawamura-senpai]!!"

With the loud greeting, he can hear multiple pops of sound here and there. Then, as his eyes finally adjusted, he could see colorful, glittering plastics floating across the room. But what attracted more of his attention were the people inside the room. 

Okumura, Asada, Kuki, and Seto were gathered together as they smiled right back at him. Okay, so Okumura was not really smiling. But who cares? The most important thing is that he's here right now. Next to the freshmen were his batchmates - Kanemaru, Toujou and Akane. And the most surprising presence was his family - his father, his mother, and his grandpa.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He was already resolved to be alone today and for the next coming days. Never did it occur to him that something like this would happen.

"Yo, Bakamura."

Sawamura's thoughts were interrupted upon hearing a very familiar voice. 

"K-Kuramochi-senpai?" Sawamura was finally able to speak. "Everyone, why are all of you here?"

"You stupid grandson! As if we'll let you be alone in this important occasion," Eitoku, Sawamura's grandpa, replied.

"If you think you did a good job of keeping it a secret, you're totally mistaken, Sawamura-kun!" Akane added as she winked at the boy.

Everyone turned quiet as they waited for Sawamura's reaction. They were surprised when the boy remained silent as he simply watched all of them standing.

On the other hand, Sawamura was full of emotions he never knew he had as tears began to fall down his face. 

"S-Sawamura-senpai?" Asada called out as soon as he saw the pitcher crying.

"Eh?" was all Sawamura could say as he tried to wipe the tears off his face.

He only recognized that he was crying when he felt warm liquid on his hands. He continued wiping his face with his arms side by side, but the tears won't seem to go away.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Sawamura spoke in between sobs. "I just didn't expect anyone to be here. I just thought..."

Sawamura continued sobbing as he tried to cover his face with his arms. His mom was about to comfort him but paused when Kuramochi knelt down in front of the younger boy.

"Hey, Sawamura," Kuramochi spoke gently as he tried to call the boy's attention.

Sawamura looked at him for a second but continued covering his face as his tears continued to flow like a river. Akane and Kanemaru were already crying. Toujou was sensitive enough to give the two some tissue.

"You must have been lonely, huh?" Kuramochi whispered as he watched the boy try to hide his expression.

Sawamura simply nodded in response.

"Hey, kid. Look at me," Kuramochi spoke as he gently grabbed Sawamura's arm out of the way. "If you knew you'd be lonely, why didn't you say so from the start?"

He then reached for Sawamura's cheeks as he wiped the tears off his face. Kuramochi was now smiling as he continued drying his former roommate's face.

"Geez. You're one troublesome little brother, you know?"

"Kuramochi-senpai!!" Sawamura shouted as he hugged his senpai with all his might. "Wah! Kuramochi-senpai! I was so lonely! I thought I could handle it, but I was wrong. I'm sorry I didn't ask for help. I'm sorry I kept it all in."

"Yosh. Yosh. It's great when you're being this honest," Kuramochi replied as he listened to Sawamura's whining while gently rubbing the boy's back.

Sawamura's parents were sniffling while his grandpa was smiling at the two. 

"Ahem!" Kanemaru cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "Enough of the drama. We're here to party."

"As expected of the Party Boy, even though you were crying a while ago too," Toujou said teasingly at his best friend.

"Huh?? I wasn't crying!" Toujou denied vehemently while the group laughed in response.

The party went on smoothly. Sawamura's family got the chance to speak to his teammates as they listened to his journey at Seidou. His parents and grandpa also shared some embarrassing stories when he was younger. 

"Gramps! What the hell are you talking about?? Don't embarrass your adorable grandson in front of his schoolmates!" the boy shouted furiously as the Seidou students laughed at his grandpa's story.

"Huh?? Is that how you're supposed to speak to your grandpa? And don't call yourself adorable! I'm the only one allowed to call you my adorable grandson!"

Sawamura was still fuming, but his grandpa ignored him when he noticed something.

"Hey, kids. Since there are four Sawamuras in this room right now, don't you think it'd be better for you to call him by his given name? I couldn't help but respond whenever you're calling my grandson by his family name," Eitoku suggested as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Yeah! Try calling him by his name so we wouldn't have a hard time," Sawamura's father suggested. "You can call him Ei-chan. That's what his friends back in middle school call him."

"Pops!"

"Oh. Ei-chan!" Akane replied with delight as she clapped her hands. "That's a good idea! I'll be calling you Ei-chan too!"

"Well, if you're fine with that," Sawamura spoke shyly. "I don't mind either."

"You can call me Akane-chan!"

"O-Okay."

Upon seeing the two get comfortable with each other, Kuki and Seto decided to join in on the fun.

"Then, I'll be calling you Eijun-senpai," Kuki beamed in response.

"Please take care of yourself,  Eijun-senpai ," Seto said in a teasing manner as he placed his arm on Okumura's shoulder.

Uwah. As expected of Kuki and Seto. They called Sawamura's first name so smoothly. Even though we're roommates, I am still awkward calling him by his given name.

Asada couldn't help but look at Kuki and Seto with admiration.

"O-Oh," Sawamura's eyes were sparkling as he heard the two call him with endearment. "To think it will have such an effect! Now that they're calling me 'Eijun-senpai,' I'm starting to find them even more adorable."

"Na, Koushuu," Seto continued teasing his best friend as his arm remained wrapped around his shoulder. "You should call him Eijun-senpai too. It's not so hard, you know."

Okumura ignored Seto with all his might as he went straight to Sawamura's mother to help her clean the table.

"Okasan, let me help you with that," Okumura volunteered.

"Oh my, thank you for the offer," Sawamura's mother replied dearly. "You must be Eijun's battery partner. Please continue taking care of my son."

"Of course," Okumura replied swiftly as he bowed politely.

"Ah! He ran away! That Koushuu!" Seto commented

"Yep, he ran away," Kuki smiled awkwardly.

"Hm," Asada agree. "He ran away indeed."

Meanwhile, Sawamura was pestering Kuramochi.

"Ne, ne. Kuramochi-senpai. If I called you Youichi-senpai, would you find me an adorable kouhai too?" Sawamura asked in anticipation.

"In your dreams, baka!" Kuramochi replied as he pulled his tongue out while poking the younger boy's forehead.

"Ouch! That's so mean!" Sawamura cried out while pouting as he gently rubbed his temple.

Little did they know, Akane was secretly taking pictures of their lively conversations. Kanemaru and Toujou were busy conversing with Sawamura's father and grandfather. Okumura was still helping Sawamura's mom while the remaining first years were busy preparing the laptop for the greetings and the gifts for their beloved senpai.

"Uhm, since we've all finished eating our meal, I think it's best to go to the best part of the program," Seto introduced.

"Best part?" Sawamura asked as he tilted his head slightly.

"We've prepared a few more surprises for you, Sawa- Ahem! Eijun-senpai," Seto corrected himself before he could finish.

"Ohhh..." was the only thing Sawamura could say as he gently clapped his hands.

"First and foremost, let me give you our gifts," Seto started. "Asada and Kuki, please go ahead."

Asada and Kuki nodded as they went near Sawamura's bed.

"This is for you, E-Eijun-senpai," Asada spoke shyly as he handed the tightly wrapped gift to his roommate.

"Oh! Thank you, Kuki, Asada!" Sawamura smiled at the two as he tried to check what the gift was.

"It's a complete set of all volumes of this one particular manga that you wanted to read. We asked for help from Masuko-senpai in contacting Isashiki-senpai. This was the shoujo manga he recommended," Asada explained, to which Kuki nodded in agreement.

"Eh? Isn't this too much? You didn't spend your one month's worth of allowance just to buy this, did you?"

Kuki and Asada laughed in response.

"Don't worry, Eijun-senpai," Kuki assured. "Yui, Masashi, and Kagami pitched in as well, so this is a gift from the five of us. And besides, we were able to get a good discount thanks to Isashiki-senpai's recommendation."

"Oh, I see. Thank you so much," Sawamura replied as he hugged the pile of mangas.

"Next will be a gift from the two of us," Seto continued as soon as the two were done giving their gift. "Koushuu, please do the honors."

Okumura nodded and gave his pitcher a small pouch.

"Thanks, Okumura-shounen. Can I open it?" Sawamura asked with a smile.

"Of course."

Sawamura then gently loosened the tie on the pouch and took a peek inside.

"Oh!" Sawamura shouted as he pulled out a smartphone case. "This is so cool."

"I was the one who suggested buying you a phone case. Since I noticed you're only using the basic case included for your smartphone package," Seto explained. "Might I add that it was Koushuu who chose the design? He also knew what's the model number of your phone, so it was easy looking for one."

"Ohh! As expected of Okumura-shounen! He's noticing even the smallest details," Sawamura reacted. "Thanks, Seto, Okumura!"

"Taku, do you really have to tell him that?" Okumura grunted.

"Eh? Was I not supposed to tell him?" Seto asked sarcastically as he scratched the back of his neck.

He definitely did that on purpose.

Asada and Kuki thought to themselves as they watched Okumura continue staring daggers at his best friend.

Akane then cleared her throat to let the others know that it was her turn. Seto then smiled at her and motioned her to present her gift to the pitcher.

"I heard that it's not good for pitchers to get their shoulders cold, so I thought of giving you this!" Akane said with pride as she pulled up a loose-knit dark blue cardigan out of the paper bag. "Since it's winter and all that."

Sawamura was blushing intensely as he saw the clothes.

"Wait, Akane-chan! I-Isn't this too fancy?" Sawamura said with trembling hands as he reached out for the cardigan.

"Of course not, Ei-chan!" Akane replied with a smile. "I chose that design with you in mind."

"B-But if I wore this, wouldn't I stand out a lot??" Sawamura exclaimed as Kuramochi assisted him in wearing the cardigan.

"What are you hesitating about, Eijun? You're always standing out, even if you're wearing the most ordinary shirt out there. Isn't it a bit too late to be thinking about that?" Kanemaru asked nonchalantly.

"Yeah, I agree with Shinji, Eijun-kun," Toujou added, trying his best to suppress his laugh.

"Kanemaru! Toujou!"

"Okay, enough about trying to be ordinary because that will never happen," Kanemaru said as he ignored Sawamura's whining. "Here's our gift for you."

"We bought you a planner, Eijun-kun," Toujou explained as Sawamura looked at the slightly large hardbound planner with curiosity. "We thought you're gonna be busier for the next year, so having a planner would be a big help for you. You can put our scheduled meetings there and what you plan to do daily."

"Wow! This is neat! Thank you, Kanemaru and Toujou!" Sawamura replied as he bowed at the two. "This Sawamura Eijun will make sure to use this planner for the sake of the team!"

"Idiot! Don't use it for the team! Use it for yourself!" Kanemaru blurted out.

"Well, even if you tell me that. I plan to focus more on baseball once I get out of the hospital," Sawamura stated.

"Give it up, Shinji. Our captain will always be a baseball idiot through and through," Toujou spoke.

"Hyaha! Well, it's not like we're one to talk," Kuramochi interrupted upon seeing the look of disappointment on Kanemaru's face.

"So? How about you,  Youichi-senpai ?" Sawamura said, emphasizing his senpai's given name to make himself sound more adorable. "Aren't you going to give me a gift? Since it's Christmas and all? Just kidding! Hahaha!"

Kuramochi looked at him and then pulled something out of his jacket. He threw a crumpled paper bag towards the boy, which he caught naturally.

"What's this?"

"Well, we can't have your hands getting cold in this time of year. Isn't it right, ace-sama?" Kuramochi was grinning as Sawamura unwrapped his gift with concentration.

Sawamura's eyes were sparkling upon seeing what Kuramochi gave him. He gently sniffed the object and brought it forward to his face.

"Hmm. These are warm gloves, alright! Thank you so much,  Youichi-senpai !" Sawamura beamed at the shortstop.

Kuramochi couldn't help but blush upon seeing Sawamura's idiotic smile.

"It's nothing much but, you're welcome," Kuramochi replied while avoiding the younger boy's sparkling eyes.

"And now that your schoolmates were done giving their Christmas presents, it's time to give ours!" Eitoku exclaimed with a smug.

Sawamura's father went near the boy to hand over their gift. The boy did not waste a single second tearing the wrapping so he could immediately see what was inside.

It was a new baseball glove with almost the same design as his old one.

"Aside from being the ace, you're also the captain now," Eitoku began explaining. "We haven't congratulated you yet for doing a good job. So there! Congratulations, Eijun! We are so proud of you!"

Sawamura smiled as his father tousled his hair while his mother gently wrapped him around her arms. Needless to say, Akane did not fail to take a photo of this heartwarming scenery. She'd be sending it later to their class' group chat on Line.

Seto cleared his throat to gather everyone's attention.

"Eijun-senpai! Now that we have given you our presents, we're finally down to one last surprise that the entire Seidou team prepared for you," Seto stated with pride.

"Eh? There is more??"

Asada and Kuki nodded in response as they took out the laptop. At the same time, Okumura tried to place a mini table on Sawamura's bed.

"Since not all of us were able to attend today's party, we compiled our other teammates' messages for you, Eijun-senpai," Seto explained. "Our managers were the ones who collected the videos and edited them. We haven't watched it, though, so we're not sure of the outcome."

Okumura searched for the file on the desktop.

"Do you want to watch it by yourself, Sawamura-senpai?" Okumura asked as he offered his earphones to the pitcher.

"Na. It's fine. We can all watch together," Sawamura replied without a second's hesitation.

Everyone gathered in Sawamura's bed. Kumorachi jumped right in and stayed behind the boy. Sawamura took it as an opportunity to lean his back on his senpai's chest.

"Geez. You're such a baby," Kuramochi complained but did not push the boy away as he slipped his arms on his shoulders.

Akane joined in as she sat right next to Sawamura. The boy called the other first-years to sit on the other side right next to him. Seto pushed Asada so he could be beside his senpai.

As soon as everyone finally got their respective positions, Okumura started playing the video.

The video started with Umemoto trying to fix the camera's framing while the rest of the managers waited behind her.

"Yosh! It's all set up!" Umemoto shouted as she moved backward to join the rest of the girls. "Hi, Sawamura-kun! You must be surprised right now, aren't you? Sorry, we're not able to join you right now! But I know you're having fun, and I know that you're trying your best to recover as soon as you can. But don't be in such a hurry! The whole team will be waiting for you to come back."

"Hi, Sawamura-kun," Haruno started as soon as Umemoto was done giving her message. "I know you've had a lot on your plate since you became the team captain. But please don't try to shoulder everything by yourself. You have reliable teammates that can help you. And don't hesitate to reach out to us managers! We'll try to help in any way we can."

"Sawamura-senpai, please take care of yourself! Fight on!" said the other managers.

Umemoto then went near the camera. But before she ended the recording, she left one final message for the boy.

"Sawamura-kun, I'll save the scolding later since this is supposed to be a heart-warming message. Don't think for a second that I'll let you off the hook for trying to handle everything on your own. See you around!"

And then the screen went black.

"Umemoto-senpai is scary," Sawamura commented as he clenched Kuramochi's arms tightly on his chest.

"Hyaha! Prepare yourself, Eijun! You'll be receiving lots of scolding by the time you come back!" Kuramochi teased the boy.

"Shut up, Youichi-senpai! That's not even funny!"

They stopped their bickering when the video started showing another scene. This time, it was the coach's office. Takashima and Oota were sitting next to each other. At the same time, they watched Kataoka and Ochiai duked it out in a shogi match.

"Message for Sawamura-kun, huh?" Takashima spoke as she fixed her glasses up her nose.

"Sawamura-kun, please behave like a good boy, okay? You've been doing good as a captain, so there's no need to overstrain yourself," Oota gave a brief message with a smile and went back to observing the game.

"Well, being the team's ace and captain at the same time is not an easy task," Ochiai added without looking at the camera. "Take this opportunity to rest. We need you in the team fully recovered after all. So until then, please follow what the doctors told you."

The video then focused on Takashima. She then started saying her message shortly.

"Hello, Sawamura-kun. To be honest, I was disappointed that you didn't tell me the truth about your parents," Takashima spoke sternly but was interrupted by a whispering voice in the background.

"Takashima-san! Takashima-san! Not right now!" Umemoto muttered.

Upon realizing what Umemoto meant, Takashima cleared her throat and changed the topic as she smiled at the camera.

"I was glad I went to Nagano on the day of your team's match," she finally said with endearment. "I wasn't really expecting to discover any players out there, but when I saw you play, I knew I had to bring you over to Seidou. The way you carried yourself on the mound, the way you led your team, and the way you inspired them to keep on playing even when all hope was lost. The first thing that came to my mind was, 'that's an ace right there.' So I had to make sure that I recruited you to our school."

After a few seconds, though, Takashima was already trying her best not to laugh upon remembering what happened right after the game.

"That slap fest at the end of the game was a sight to see, though," Takashima mentioned.

"Slap fest?" Ochiai and Oota asked in unison as they looked at the assistant manager.

Takashima cleared her throat once more to gather her bearings.

"At that time, I was at my whit's end. You didn't know about Seidou, and you seemed adamant about not wanting to go to Tokyo just to play baseball. So I was thankful when Miyuki volunteered to catch your pitches when you visited our school back when you were still in middle school," Takashima continued.

However, Kanemaru stopped it from playing and finally exploded before continuing.

"Timeout!" Kanemaru blurted out. "Damn it! Takashima-san has been dropping bombs here and there. I don't even know where to react first!"

Seto nodded vigorously and then asked without hesitation, "What slap fest was Takashima-sensei talking about?"

"Is it true that you didn't know about Seidou?" Toujou asked.

"Eh?? Is this really the time to be asking me about those things??" Sawamura complained while Kuramochi was grinning.

"What? So you didn't know what Eijun did during his first and last official game back in middle school?" Eitoku questioned nonchalantly.

All the Seidou students were so eager to listen to that story except for the pitcher, that is.

"Gramps! Don't go telling my current teammates about - Hmmph!" 

Sawamura's voice was muffled when Kuramochi placed his hands on the pitcher's mouth.

"Shut up, Eijun! You're supposed to listen to the elders when they're talking," Kuramochi interjected.

And now that Sawamura's objection was out of the way, Eitoku began telling what happened during the game.

"Eijun was crying after the game because they didn't win even a single game. Then the other team captain made fun of his team and Wakana. Our Eijun got really angry and said, 'This is our spirit. The Akagi Junior High Spirit. Take this!'" Eitoku told the story animatedly. "The next thing they all knew, Eijun was already slapping the other team captain endlessly."

After reminiscing what happened, the rest of the group, except for Sawamura's family and Okumura, laughed like crazy. Sawamura's face turned as red as a tomato as his teammates and Akana continued laughing at his dark past.

"H-Hey! You guys! You're laughing too hard, don't you think?"

"Sorry, Ei-chan!" Akane replied as she composed herself once more. "I'm not making fun of you. I just thought that it was very Eijun-like."

"Hmph! Is that so?" Sawamura pouted while Kuramochi was still busy laughing behind him.

"Grandpa, thank you for telling us this story," Kanemaru added after clearing the tears on his eyes. "I'll make sure to hold Eijun down if ever another player ends up insulting one of our teammates."

"Oh! You're a very reliable kid!" Eitoku replied as he patted Kanemaru's back. "I'll be leaving Eijun to you when that time comes."

"Okay, okay. You've had your fun. Can we go back to watching the video now?" Sawamura butted in, his face still slightly flushed.

The rest agreed and turned silent to continue watching the video again.

"I truly apologize that I was a bit pushy back then, Sawamura-kun. I knew that you had it in you to be the next ace of Seidou, so I couldn't let it go when you quickly declined my offer. But now, you're the team's ace and also the captain. You've already come a long way, and I am proud of all your achievements so far. You may still have a long way to go, but you're doing great. Just always believe in yourself. And please take care of yourself always. Merry Christmas, Sawamura-kun. I'll make sure to visit you during winter break, so I'll be saving my proper scolding until then." 

Takashima then fixed her glasses to signal the end of her message. The video then focused on Coach Kataoka, who was still looking at the board. He then cleared his throat and looked at the camera.

"Sawamura, you certainly got me worried when I saw you lying unconscious on the ground. Remember that while you are a valuable player, you are also my student. There must be a reason you acted on impulse and got yourself hurt in the process, but I won't ask any further. Just know that we are here to support you. I didn't ask you to be the captain to shoulder the whole team. Like I said initially, you just need to lead by example. You've been doing an excellent job in motivating the entire team. I couldn't ask any more from you. I wish you a speedy recovery."

"And once your back in tip-top shape, you can go ahead and try to steal the ace number back again," was Coach Kataoka's final message.

"Yes, boss!" Sawamura immediately replied, even if the coach would not hear him.

 Fortunately, this time, the group didn’t have further questions about what was said in the video. Instead, they waited for the next scene to come. This time, it was the Seidou alumni’s turn.

“Good evening, Sawamura,” Tetsuya started with a formal greeting. “I was surprised when Umemoto was trying to do a video call with me. I thought she pressed the wrong button, so I ended it immediately. But then, she started sending me messages to answer her call –“

“Ahh! Yuuki-senpai! This is not the time to be explaining things! Just get on with your message, please!”

Umemoto’s voice could be heard on the video once more. Toujou explained that she video called the alumni and recorded their calls. Apparently, the first-year managers, who were the ones who edited the videos, found it amusing to include Umemoto’s antics in gathering as many videos as she could.

“You first caught our attention when you shouted on the field and stood up against Azuma-san,” Yuuki began. “We thought you’re just a naïve middle-schooler who wanted some attention. But then you went ahead and shouted angrily how no one can play baseball by themselves. Not only that, you prove your point when you struck Azuma-san out with the help of Miyuki. At that time, I wished I was the one standing on the batter’s box so I could hit your erratic pitches.”

“Just like me, you started as a mediocre baseball player. But you didn’t let that stop you from aiming to be the ace. You worked harder than everyone else. You helped us reach Seidou’s goal that we weren’t able to achieve,” Tetsuya said with a smile as he reminisced Sawamura’s journey. “You may be the captain now, but that doesn’t mean you have to work even harder. Your attitude towards baseball is already enough to motivate the team. Just do the things like you always do. And when you feel like you’re about to give up, take a rest. Ask for help from people around you. It won’t make you a lesser man if you depend on others.”

“But if you think there’s no one who can help you, you can come to me. Let’s talk things out while playing shogi,” Tetsuya suggested as he tried to place a shogi piece on air. 

Suddenly, a knock was heard in the background, and then the door opened.

“Nii-san, it’s time for dinner,” Masashi, his younger brother, called out.

“Wait, Masashi. I’m not done giving a message to Sawamura.”

“Oh. Yeah. The team was already informed about him,” Masashi replied, his head peeking at the door.

“I see, so you are already aware of his situation,” the older brother mentioned. “Then, join me here and give a message to your captain.”

Masashi immediately complied and went to face the camera.

“Sawamura-senpai, I heard from Miyuki-senpai that you were a better shogi player than him. So please focus on your recovery for now so we can play shogi by the time you get back. I’ll be looking forward to our match, Sawamura-senpai,” Masashi spoke as he bowed slightly towards the camera. 

Without speaking another word, Masashi exited Tetsuya’s room. 

“Ah! That tanuki bastard! He just wanted me to experience the same sufferings he had when he was the captain!” Sawamura shouted after hearing Masashi’s invitation.

Kanemaru paused the video once more. 

“What is it again, Kanemaru?” Sawamura asked in annoyance. “Stop turning this into a movie-review session of some sort!”

Seeing it as an opportunity to ask, Seto went on with his inquiry.

“Eijun-senpai, who’s Azuma-san?”

“Geh! Do you really need to know?” Sawamura asked, feeling embarrassed as he remembered his fight with the alumni.

“I only saw him once, but my first impression of him was that he’s a scary guy,” Kanemaru butted in upon remembering the name. “I heard from Chris-senpai, though, that he was the only draft candidate on his year at Seidou.”

“And this idiot decided to have a confrontation with that ‘scary guy,'” Kuramochi added as he pinched the boy’s cheek.

“Ouch! Stop it, Youichi-senpa-“ 

“Confrontation??” Akane and the rest asked in unison.

“Yeah, back when he was still in middle school,” Kuramochi replied, slightly feeling proud at his little brother’s tenacity.

“Middle school??”

“Huh? You didn’t know? Eijun visited Seidou when he was still in middle school. Takashima-san brought her there during one of our practices,” Kuramochi explained.

“We only knew that Sawamura was scouted by Seidou and is on a sports scholarship program,” Toujou said as he remembered Kanemaru mentioning it once.

“Yeah. At that time, Takashima-san tried to convince Eijun to join Seidou by letting him witness our practice. This kid has the gut to insult Azuma-senpai’s ‘charm point.’ He was really furious at that time I was almost ready to see this guy get squashed to smithereens.”

“Uhm. Youichi-senpai? Aren’t you enjoying this too much?” Sawamura asked as he felt Kuramochi’s body tremble slightly as he tried his best not to laugh at him.

“And then? What happened?” Asada and Kuki questioned.

“Takashima-san managed to calm Azuma-senpai and even asked him to hit Eijun’s pitches. And that’s where Miyuki came in,” Kuramochi continued with the story as he reminisced the first time he met the pitcher. “Miyuki volunteered to catch his pitches. It took 11 pitches for him to strike out Azuma-senpai.”

“Wow. So even back in middle school, Sawamura-senpai was already making a name for himself,” Kuki commented.

“Hyaha! Both positively and negatively!”

“I didn’t do anything special back then. It was Miyuki-senpai who was amazing. I simply followed his lead.”

No matter how good a catcher Miyuki-senpai is, striking out a batter of that caliber means you’re a good pitcher already back in middle school, Sawamura-senpai.

Okumura thought to himself upon hearing Sawamura’s statement.

“Ugh! Let’s stop talking about this, please? I didn’t mean for that visit to go that way! I was just really annoyed at that guy back then,” Sawamura started defending himself. 

“That’s Azuma-senpai for you!” Kuramochi smirked as he pinched the boy’s already swollen cheek once more.

“Eijun! We didn’t know about this! As soon as you stepped foot on Seidou while you’re not even enrolled yet, you already went and started another fight!” Eitoku interjected upon hearing the story. “Geez! You really are one troublesome kid!”

“I’m sorry, okay? I just couldn’t help it. He was spouting harsh words at Nori-senpai that it just pissed me off,” Sawamura explained. “They’re supposed to be teammates, and he’s talking to him just like that. So, of course, anyone would be annoyed.”

“But not everyone will have the guts to stand against him,” Kuramochi retorted.

“Well, I’m sorry if I am so full of guts!” Sawamura replied, pouting. “Can we just please go on?”

Feeling contented now at what he heard, Kanemaru played the video again. 

 “Yo, Sawamura-kun,” Ryousuke greeted. “I was told you won’t be able to go home during winter break so you can recover properly. You’re lucky I wasn’t there right now to beat some sense into you. Well, just take your time. Don’t be impatient, and just leave everything to your teammates for now. I knew you were as stubborn as your former captain but to think you’d also end up not making it to Jingu Tournament, huh? Anyway, please enjoy your winter break because I’ll definitely be enjoying mine. I may be able to visit Seidou by the time you come back, so by then, please be ready. If you know what I mean?”

Ryousuke’s message ended with a sinister smile, making Kuramochi and the second-years flinch.

“K-Kuramochi-senpai, as expected, Onii-san is scary!” Sawamura couldn’t help but react after the screen turned black. 

Kuramochi was about to reply when the video turned back on again.

“I forgot to mention that Masuko asked me a favor to send you his message. He made a mistake during their practice game, so he’s on-mute penalty again,” Ryousuke once again continued as he tried searching for the message on his phone. “Sawamura-chan, I’m sorry I couldn’t talk to you right now. I will try to revisit you over the winter break. Please wait for me and my special pudding. Since you are my special kouhai, I’ll make an exception and share my new favorite pudding with you.”

“Ohh! As expected of Masuko-senpai! He really is the best!” Sawamura reacted but was interrupted when Ryousuke spoke once more.

“Oh, and Sawamura-kun, if you think I’m scary, wait until you hear what Haruichi has to say,” Ryousuke added. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to pray for your safety. Bye, Sa~wa~mu~ra~kun.”

“Geh! How did he know I was going to react like that? Was he an esper? I knew it! Onii-san must be a god in his past life! Onii-san is so scary!” Sawamura said, now panicking as he grabbed Kuramochi’s arms with all his might.

Even Kuramochi and the others were speechless after hearing Ryousuke. The first years were kind of lucky because they didn’t know how frightening the previous second baseman could be in person.

 The video continued playing as they watched Asou and Zono bickering at first while Seki was trying to stop them coolly. The two were not even listening until Umemoto’s voice was once again heard in the background.

“Oi, stop wasting my time and say whatever you have to say, you punks!”

Zono and Asou flinched at the comment and behaved themselves as they cleared their throats to start what was asked of them.

“Yo, Sawamura. I don’t even know what to say to you, but there’s one thing I know. You’re capable of being the captain. I witnessed that myself back when we were playing against Seihou. You’ve proven yourself many times to the team, so there’s no need to doubt yourself. You’ve been playing left fielders from time to time, so if ever you need pointers, I’ll be a good senpai and teach you!” Asou said with pride.

“Na?” said Seki as he smiled at the camera. “If you need to practice hitting breaking balls, just let me know. I’ll be glad to teach you the Seki special.” 

“Hey, Sawamura. You probably have a lot of things in mind right now. But you don’t have to think too hard about it. You’re more of an action guy anyways. So just play with confidence, and you’ll surely lead the team with your plays. We chose you as the captain because we knew you could do it. So just relax and do things your own way. Nobody’s asked you to change. Just be who you are,” Zono added calmly.

The screen suddenly turned black. Sawamura couldn’t help but smile at what his senpais told him. And now, more than ever, he’s more determined to do even better once he’s back on the field.

The following people shown in the video were Watanabe, Higashio, and Kudou.

“Hi, Sawamura-kun. You’ve gone and done it again, haven’t you? It’s a good thing Okumura heard what you’re planning to do and could do something about it. But, honestly, what were you thinking, trying to recover all by yourself?” In a calm but stern face, Watanabe said while Higashio and Kudou were smiling awkwardly at him. “Anyway, this is not the time to be scolding you, so I’ll say this for now. The team needs you, but that doesn’t mean you can’t seek your team’s help. You’ve always exceeded our expectations so we couldn’t ask anything more from you. Just do what you’ve always been doing. No need to push yourself too hard.”

“That’s right, Sawamura. You probably didn’t know this, but you’ve been an inspiration not just to the freshmen and your batch mates, but for as third years too. You’ve always kept your feet on the ground, but at the same time, you keep on lifting the team’s spirit. I was glad when you kept on doing the exercises we suggested you.” Kudou spoke. “It was exhilarating when I watched you overcome your yips during the Fall Tournament. It made me dream once more that there’s nothing impossible if you just put in the right effort. I’ll try to aim to be a regular in college. So when that time comes, I hope you’ll get to watch one of my matches too.”

“And if you ever need new training menus and exercises to improve your pitching, even more, do not hesitate to reach out to us,” Higashio added. “We’ll try to help you to the best of our abilities.”

Sawamura was sniffling now as he continued listening to his teammates’ encouragement. Hearing about the yips was no longer news for Kuramochi, Toujou, Kanemaru, and Sawamura’s family. It was a different story for Akane and the freshmen, though.

Kanemaru noticed it and decided to pause the video. He remembered telling Seto many things about Sawamura’s hard work, but he never mentioned the yips. He felt like it wasn’t his place to share something so personal. And to be honest, he’s not even sure if Sawamura himself was comfortable enough to tell the first years what he has gone through. Even Kudou might not have the intention of letting the others know. They weren’t even expecting to watch the video until Sawamura asked them to. One thing he was sure of was that it devastated Sawamura as he saw the light disappear from his eyes.

“I’m sorry, Eijun,” Akane whispered as she tried to comprehend what she had just heard. “I wasn’t really paying too much attention to the baseball club’s activities, so I wasn’t aware. And judging from the first years’ expressions, they didn’t know about it too. So you must have suffered from yips when you were still in the first year?”

Sawamura was too focused on his teammates' positive remarks that he already forgot about Kudou, mentioning how he overcame the yips.

“O-Oh, that’s….” Sawamura replied awkwardly as he tried to grasp Kuramochi’s arms once more as if asking for help. “Yeah, I was in first year when I suffered from yips. During the Finals match of the last year’s Summer Tournament, I made a fatal mistake and hit one of the opponent’s batter’s head. I guess I was still too inexperienced then, and I couldn’t handle the pressure. It’s because of that that we – “

Sawamura was about to say that he was the reason they lost. Still, Kuramochi was swift enough to prevent him from talking any further.

“Eijun,” Kuramochi called softly. “I kept on telling you, it wasn’t your fault. We lost as a team, so no need to blame yourself. You did well back then.”

“Thanks, Youichi-senpai,” Sawamura smiled bitterly as he remembered his agony back when he couldn’t pitch to the inside.

Okumura, who watched Seidou’s match against Teitou, couldn’t help but put the puzzle pieces together. He still remembered how Sawamura’s pitching managed to catch his attention back then. In fact, it was because of that game that Okumura decided to go to Seidou. Furuya as a pitcher was interesting, but Sawamura convinced him to finally join his current school.

He suddenly remembered how Sawamura turned the game's tide as he stood on the mound. He also remembered how he managed to stop Teitou’s momentum with just the outside pitches.

So, is that why he was only pitching to the outside? Because he couldn’t throw to the inside? Does that mean that he was still suffering from the yips back then?

“Sawamura-senpai,” Okumura spoke for the first time. “Pardon me for asking, and I apologize if you will find this uncomfortable. During your match with Teitou, are you still suffering from the yips back then?”

Kuramochi, Kanemaru, and Toujou were surprised to hear the question. They can still remember how Sawamura saved the team back then from a pinch even though he still couldn’t pitch to the inside. Seto then realized what Okumura was trying to point out because he was there too.

“Ah! Now that I think about it, I thought it was weird that Sawamura-senpai was only pitching outside courses,” Seto exclaimed.

“Eh? You watched the game when we were playing with Teitou??” Sawamura asked as he blushed furiously.

That’s not the part that you should be surprised about, Eijun.

The three couldn’t help but think to themselves. Finally, Kuramochi sighed in exasperation as he replied on Sawamura’s behalf.

“Yeah, he was pitching purely on the outside because he didn’t have that much of a choice.”

“Well, for someone who only has one available pitch at his disposal, I’d say he did pretty well,” Kanemaru commented as he tried to lighten the atmosphere.

“What are you saying, Kanemaru? It was spectacular, if I say so myself! I stopped Teitou’s batter with just outside pitches, you know!” Sawamura was fuming while Kuramochi and Toujou were laughing. “I was amazing back then, wouldn’t you say, Okumura-shounen?”

Asada, Kuki, and Seto gazed towards Okumura as they patiently waited for his response. The now awkward catcher was quick enough to avoid their eyes as he tried to hide his embarrassment. However, his ears were already reddening even before he could respond.

“Y-Yeah,” Okumura spoke quietly. “You were spectacular.”

The rest were dumbfounded to hear Okumura’s honesty. But no one is more surprised than the person who asked the question himself.

“Ah! Okumura-shounen praised me!” Sawamura spoke as he finally smiled after reminiscing about the yips.

The rest were finally smiling while Seto and Kuki were teasing Okumura. 

“Why don’t we just go ahead and finish watching the video?” Okumura suggested as he tried to avoid gazes that may still be possibly directed at him.

Akane just smirked as she relented the catcher’s request.

A short message was provided by Yui and some other first years.

“Sawamura-senpai, once you come back, please teach me how to bunt!” Yui said lastly as he bowed his head.

After which, it was Sawamura’s batch mates’ turn to give their greetings.

“Uh, hello, Sawamura. I didn’t know you’d be spending winter break all by yourself. We even visited you in the hospital, but you didn’t say anything. Anyway, stop trying to handle things by yourself. And stop being so considerate. You’ve caused way too many troubles, so honestly, this is something we’re already used to,” Kariba started nagging. “Anyway, since this might be the only chance I’ll ever get to tell you this. I’ll take this opportunity to let you know my thoughts as one of your catchers. I may not have been able to catch your pitches in an official match, but I know all the efforts you’ve been putting into it. From learning to pitch on the inside with your new form, you learned to pitch to the outside when you had the yips. I was happy when I was able to help you back then, and I couldn’t help but be proud when you finally recovered from the yips. And then you learned changeup overnight, and now you have a lot of breaking balls added to your arsenal. It’s a bit frustrating that I didn’t become a regular catcher, but let me tell you one thing: I’m proud to catch all of your pitches. And if ever you’ll learn another pitch, please give me the chance to catch it too. I’m looking forward to your continuous growth. If it’s you, you can do it, Sawamura.”

“Eijun-kun, we already talked about this during our visit, so I thought I finally made my point come across. But it seems your thick skull could not comprehend what Kanemaru and I told you, so I’ll try to make your body remember instead. For now, Merry Christmas, and I hope you’ll enjoy your break,” Haruichi said with a smile.

Kariba and Toujou couldn’t help but feel a sudden chill running down their spine as they listened to the pink-haired second baseman.

“I’ll be the one to help you with your stretching once you’re allowed to play,” Haruichi added, his smile still not fading. “Please look forward to it, Eijun-kun.”

Toujou, who was already flustered, just gave a short message.

“Good luck, Sawamura,” Toujou said awkwardly. “You’d probably be needing it by the time you came back.”

It was Sawamura’s turn to pause the video this time. 

“Oh no! Onii-san and Harucchi are too scary! What am I supposed to do?? Help me, Youichi-senpai!” Sawamura pleaded desperately as he looked over Kuramochi, who was already annoyed with his whining.

“Shut up! It’s your fault anyway, so just face the consequences! Be a man!” the shortstop replied.

“You meanie! Aren’t you supposed to be my big bro!?”

“Ugh, so annoying.”

Akane was sniggering as she watched the two argue. She couldn’t help but think that the two were really close and looked like actual siblings. She then continued playing the video without asking anyone’s permission. 

After Kariba, Haruichi and Toujou, it was Takatsu’s turn now.

“D-Do I really have to give him a message? We’ll be seeing each other once the break is over,” Takatsu asked as he hesitated to look at the camera.

“A short message will do, Takatsu-kun. Just tell him whatever you want to say to him,” Yoshikawa explained in the background.

“O-Okay,” Takatsu replied, still not looking at the camera.

Takatsu paused for a while as he tried to gather his thoughts. He then looked at the camera, his face slightly flushed.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to visit you. But I’ll try to drop by during winter break,” Takatsu started. “Y-You’ve also been an inspiration to me. Watching you play baseball made me strive even more and not give up. I know I may still be lacking, and I knew I couldn’t be as good as our senpais when it comes to fielding, but I will do my best. I’m happy that I finally played baseball with you in official matches. I’ll practice harder, so I hope you’ll also rely on me.”

After a few seconds of silence, Takatsu looked away from the camera and finally said, “That’s it.”

Yoshikawa thanked her, and then the screen turned black. Akane and the rest noticed how Sawamura turned quiet as he tried to absorb Takatsu’s message. Needless to say, he was once again blushing.

Second to the last scene was from his classmates. It was lunch break, so it was total raucous. Kanemaru and Akane were also included but decided to remain at the back. At the same time, the rest of his classmates enthusiastically gave their greetings. At that time, Kanemaru and Akane were already thinking of a plan to help Sawamura. 

“Hey, Sawamura-kun! Don’t push yourself too much, and just focus on your recovery for now. We’ll be looking forward to your games in the future.”

“Yo! Ace-sama! Hurry up and go back to the field! We can’t wait to see you stand on the mound again.”

“Sawamura! If ever we’d get to play baseball during PE, let me catch your pitches too! So don’t hold back on me, okay?”

“Sawamura-kun, we’ll pray for your fast recovery. Our class is a bit quiet without you here, so come back as soon as you can, okay?”

“Hey, Furuya! Stop sleeping and give your captain a message too!” one of his classmates urged as he shook the monster pitcher violently.

Furuya opened his eyes and looked nonchalantly at the camera. Then, he said nothing and looked down at his desk. 

“Furuya! At least say hi!”

“Polar bear,” Furuya whispered.

“Eh?” said some of his classmates in unison.

“I’ll be sending you a polar bear so you won’t be alone anymore,” Furuya continued speaking in a gentle tone. “So until then, please be happy.”

There were some ‘Kyaa!’ and ‘Aww. That was so sweet.’ coming from his female classmates while some guys were teasing Furuya, to which he simply ignored and went back to sleep.

“Eh? Polar bear??” Sawamura said in a panic. “Is he going to send me a live one?”

“Stupid! Of course, that’s not gonna happen!” Kuramochi retorted.

At the end of the video, Yoshikawa flipped the camera towards her and smiled.

“Sawamura-kun, our classmates are looking forward to your recovery. I know you must be having a hard time being the captain and ace at the same time, but if it’s you, I know you can do it. I’ll be supporting you, so if there’s anything I can help you with, just let me know.”

And finally, last but not the least. It was Chris’ turn to give his message.

“Hi, Sawamura. It’s a bit awkward to be giving you a message when we just met just a few days back.”

“Chris-senpai!” Sawamura shouted as he tried to hug the screen but was pulled by Kuramochi.

“When you became the new ace of the team, I was thrilled and proud that you finally achieved what you’ve been working so hard for. I’m lucky that I got the chance to mentor you, and I can see that you are faithfully following what I’ve been teaching you. You were careful enough not to get injured during practice and even during the game, and I commend you for that. You’ve saved the team multiple times even if you were still not the ace, and that just proved how reliable of a pitcher you’ve become.”

“If there’s one thing I regret, that is I couldn’t form a battery with you for a longer time. It was for a short while, but catching for you was fun. It’s all thanks to you that I finally accepted not being able to play baseball in high school anymore. You being my battery partner in my last game in high school was all I could ask for.”

“I know you must be frustrated right now that you couldn’t play for the next tournament, but please be patient. I’d also like to let you know that you’re doing well as a captain. I’ve been watching your games, and I know how much you’ve grown. Many people might have been telling you this already, but they insisted I tell you since it’d probably be most effective if it came from me. At least that what they said,” Chris said as he scratched the back of his neck. “You don’t need to shoulder everything on your own. Even if you’re the ace and the captain now, you can still depend on your team. That’s what Seidou baseball is all about, right? So, for now, focus on recovering. Once you’ve been cleared, I’ll help you personally with your rehabilitation, so please look forward to it.”

The video finally ended, and Sawamura was already in a mess as he bawled noisily on his senpai’s arms.

“Wah! I’m so happy right now. I could die!”

“Idiot! Don’t die!” Kanemaru retorted while the others laughed.

“You really are loved by your teammates, aren’t you?” Eitoku commented as he tousled the boy’s hair.

“But wait! What about Miyuki-senpai??” Akane asked as soon as she noticed that the former captain was not included in the video.

The rest of the Seidou baseball players turned quiet. Aside from Sawamura, they already knew that Miyuki refused to give his message, as explained by Umemoto. Kuramochi refused because he was planning to visit Sawamura anyway. To be honest, the shortstop thought that the catcher would at least drop by again before the winter break. But that seemed to be not the case.

In an attempt to make the atmosphere less awkward, Sawamura started laughing.

“Ma, it’s Miyuki-senpai that we’re talking about,” Sawamura began. “He might stand out too much during the game, but he didn’t want too much attention off the field. So maybe he was just awkward having his video taken. Besides, that guy does not intend to give me an inspiring message anyway, so I think that’s fine.”

Akane couldn’t help but be disappointed. She even summoned all her courage to talk to Miyuki, but it seems the boy didn’t even bother doing what she suggested.

The Seidou players couldn’t think of anything to say to Sawamura. Luckily, one of the nurses knocked at the door and invited them to go to the rooftop to watch the fireworks in a nearby shrine.

“The fireworks will be starting in ten minutes,” the nurse informed merrily as she motioned the group to step outside the room.

“Oh! Fireworks! Let’s go watch it!” Sawamura beamed in response.

Kuramochi smiled bitterly and just assisted Sawamura on his wheelchair. Everyone followed through as they engaged in different conversations. Akane also decided to bury her frustrations for now as she smiled at Sawamura and volunteered to help him with his wheelchair.

“Thanks, Akane-chan,” Sawamura spoke as Akane started pushing him towards the elevator.

As soon as they reached the last floor, Kuramochi offered to carry Sawamura on the way to the rooftop. Kanemaru and Toujou were the ones who brought the wheelchair over the stairs so the pitcher could sit comfortably while watching the fireworks.

Upon reaching the rooftop, a kid shouted ‘Eijun-nii!’ and most of the children came flocking at Kuramochi, who was carrying Sawamura at that time.

“Ejun-nii is being carried like a child!” one of the kids commented.

“That’s unfair! I want a piggyback too!” the other kid whined to his father upon seeing the pitcher.

“Hehe. That’s because I’m his little brother too,” Sawamura boasted, to which Kuramochi blushed slightly.

After a few minutes of interacting with the kids and finding an excellent place to watch the fireworks, the entire group turned silent. Okumura was standing behind Sawamura while Kuramochi was beside him.

“Okumura-shounen, thanks for everything,” Sawamura said, not even looking at the boy. “I probably would be sulking at my room right now if it weren’t for you.”

“I just did what I thought was right. I apologize for eavesdropping on your phone call back then,” Okumura replied.

“Don’t you think it’s a little bit late for that now?” Sawamura answered as he laughed at the catcher.

The fireworks then stared soaring towards the sky. They watched for the entire 15 minutes silently in awe. As soon as it was finished, the majority of the people went back to their respective rooms. When Sawamura’s group were already exiting the door one by one, he turned to say something.

“Thank you, everyone, for joining me in this wonderful evening!” Sawamura smiled his warmest smile. “I’m glad I’ve got to meet amazing people like you.

Sawamura’s family and the Seidou students smiled back in reply.

“Enough with the drama, Eijun,” Kanemaru then spoke as he tried not to be embarrassed. “Let’s go back to your room.”

Kanemaru then exited the door, and the rest followed suit. Sawamura was only silently looking at them disappear one by one.

“Aren’t you going back, Sawamura-senpai?” Okumura asked, who was still standing behind him.

“Na, let me stay here for a while. I think I’ll be needing a few minutes of peace and quiet,” Sawamura replied as he started stretching his arms.

“Well, then. I’ll wait for you inside,” Okumura was about to walk away when Sawamura suddenly spoke.

“Why don’t you join me? I need peace and quiet, but it doesn’t mean I have to be alone.”

“If that’s what you want,” Okumura managed to say as he was slightly taken aback.

Kuramochi noticed that Sawamura and Okumura hadn’t gone back yet.

“Where’s Koushuu and Eijun-senpai?” Seto asked.

“Let’s give them space. I think Eijun is trying to contemplate a lot of things right now,” Kuramochi replied. “He’s with Okumura, so I think he’ll be fine.”

Seto couldn’t help but smile. At least, Sawamura is now back to his old self, relying on his teammates whenever he could.