Chapter Text
Summer had finally ended, and so was Kōshien. Seidou baseball team, the new champion of the said event, was busy preparing for the upcoming Fall Tournament now that the third year had retired. Sawamura Eijun, the new captain, was unanimously selected by their former two vice-captains and captain.
It's a heavy burden considering he is still the team's ace. Still, he's being supported accordingly by Kanemaru and Kominato as vice-captains. Besides, there's Furuya, and it's not wrong to say that they have two aces in the team right now. After the summer tournament, Furuya and Sawamura had become even closer, but the rivalry was still there. Their usual antics can still be heard from the bullpen and dugout. Needless to say, Sawamura is mostly the one doing the talking. But this time, Furuya was sharing the ace burden with Sawamura when he saw that Sawamura was trying to fulfill his responsibilities as the captain. He even requested Coach Kataoka to let him be in charge of the pitching team. Of course, Sawamura complained at first but eventually agreed upon seeing the determination in his rival's eyes.
Summer ending also means classes resuming. At lunch break, Sawamura was on his way to the classroom of Seidou's new starting catcher, Okumura Koushuu. As soon as Sawamura arrived at 1-A room, he loudly announced himself as he looked for the catcher.
"I'm Sawamura Eijun of the baseball team! I would like to request the presence of our new main catcher, Okumura Koushuu! May I know where he is?" The southpaw declared while rotating his head from left to right.
Several murmurs were heard across the room as gazes traverse from the loud southpaw pitcher.
That's Sawamura-senpai. The ace of the baseball team.
Wow! To think that someone as great as him is visiting our classroom.
His pitching was so sick! I saw him during the Kōshien. Maybe I should go ahead and have him sign my baseball?
Eh? So Okumura is the new starting catcher now? Even though he's still a first-year? So cool!
As expected, Okumura-kun belongs to a different dimension.
The whisperings continued, but Sawamura couldn't care less. Fortunately, one of Okumura's female classmates answered the pitcher's inquiry.
"If you're searching for Okumura-kun, he just went out for a bit. He'll be back in a few minutes," said the girl in glasses with a smile who appeared to be their class representative.
"Oh! Is that so? If that's the case, I'll just be waiting outside. Thank you so much, young lady!"
The girl blushed at being called a young lady. "N-No, it's fine. You can stay inside. It's not often that a senpai visits our room. Also, I think some of my classmates would want to talk to you. Would it be possible to indulge them while you wait for Okumura-kun to arrive?"
"I see. So the first years would like to hear the wisdom of this lowly pitcher." Sawamura responded in a serious tone with his arms crossed and his eyes closed as he pondered on the girl's request while trying to hide the blush forming on his cheeks. "Then, if that's the case, feel free to ask me anything, and I'll make sure to respond to the best of my abilities!"
How many pitches do you have?
Were you a member of a senior league before you went to Seidou?
Do you plan to go pro after high school?
The southpaw pitcher was continued to be bombarded with questions that he unwittingly responded to as he scratched his head. The first years seemed to assume that he's some big-shot when he's actually not. At least, that's how the boy perceived himself. After all, he still has a long way to go.
After about five minutes of waiting, Okumura arrived and noticed how half of the room's space was vacated. Instead, most of his classmates were gathered in front. He only needed two seconds to process what was happening inside as he heard his battery partner's obnoxious way of laughing.
As he entered the room, most of his male classmates and female classmates listened attentively to the southpaw pitcher.
"Okumura-kun! You've finally arrived. Sawamura-senpai is looking for you. He's been here for a while now," said one of the first-year managers, who was in the same class as Okumura.
But before Okumura could respond, Sawamura already noticed his arrival.
"Okumura-shounen! Where have you been? I've been waiting for you," Sawamura bellowed in the center of the crowd as he raised his left hand while waving enthusiastically at the catcher.
The whole class turned silent as they watched Okumura move towards the front of the room, where the pitcher and some of his classmates were gathered. Then, as if intimidated by the boy's aura, his classmates dispersed to give way to Okumura, which he didn't notice as he's focused on the beaming second year.
"What are you doing here, Sawamura-senpai? Do you need something from me?" Okumura asked.
As soon as he spoke, some of his classmates seemed amazed hearing his voice.
So, he does speak.
I see. Okumura-kun is still using Keigo when speaking to his senpai.
"Now, now! Don't be so stiff, Okumura-shounen! Why don't we speak outside to discuss the details with you? You see, Furuya and I tried to create our training menu for the week for our pitchers and catchers. Since you're the main catcher now, we thought it'd be best to seek your approval too! We'll start the training this afternoon, so I'd like you to check it now. Just check the ones for today, then you can check the remaining ones once you have the time."
Okumura-shounen?
So Sawamura-senpai calls Okumura-kun as Okumura-shounen?
Does he call other first years as 'shounen' too?
Okumura-kun doesn’t seem to mind.
Okumura's classmates remained silent, but they were obviously thinking at the back of their heads. They didn't expect to see this side for both players. This is a rare sight for them – a talking Okumura and a very serious Sawamura. Before Okumura arrived, Sawamura was wearing this idiotic look which made him appear approachable. Had he shown this serious face right at the start, no one would have even tried talking to him.
"I wouldn't mind doing this now. However," Okumura paused as he looked at the two megane duo silently peeking at the front door of their classroom. "Taku, Hiro, what are you two doing here?"
"Ha-ha-ha. Koushuu, you found us," Seto replied as he fake-laughed while Asada just smiled awkwardly.
"You're not even making an effort to hide," Okumura commented with his usual monotone.
"We heard Sawamura-senpai is in 1-A room right now, so we decided to take a look."
"Take a look? What are you talking about? You see him all the time in the dorm and during practice."
We're here to make sure nothing wrong will happen between you two.
Asada and Seto thought to themselves as they immediately went to 1-A room upon hearing someone from their class that Sawamura was, in fact, visiting one of the first-year classes.
The conversation went on like this:
Boy A from class 1-C: Oi, you're from 1-A, right?
Boy B from class 1-A, speaking to one of his friends in 1-C: Yep. Why do you ask, though?
Boy A: Are you sure this is the time for you to be here?
Boy B: Huh?
Boy A: I heard that Sawamura-senpai is visiting your class. Don't you want to check him out? You won't even shut up last time after watching Kōshien.
Boy B: Ehh? For real? Dude! Tell me that earlier!
And then the boy ran towards his own classroom. Seto and Asada, who were nearby, happened to hear the entire conversation. And in 1-A room, they could only think of one person as the main reason for the southpaw's visit.
Going back to the present –
"Oh! Seto, Asada! You're here as well! Feel free to join this tiny meeting. It's good to be exposed to this type of planning. Especially you, Asada, since you're one of our pitchers too," Sawamura beamed in response upon seeing the two first years while naturally ignoring Okumura's comment.
The four of them had forgotten the fact that they were still inside the classroom.
The boy in black glasses called Okumura by his first name.
So he has friends too.
Are they from other dimensions as well?
Sawamura was the first to notice the weird silence emanating in the room, which was surprising, to be honest. He saw, too, that Okumura's classmates seemed to be looking at him with curiosity. Then, a realization suddenly dawned at the southpaw as he drew nearer to the boy.
“Oi, Okumura,” whispered Sawamura.
"Why are you whispering?"
"Your classmates are looking weirdly at you. Are you, by any chance, being bullied? Are you not getting along well with the class?"
"Huh? Just where did that come from?"
Seto and Asada, who could hear their conversation just fine, were trying their best not to laugh. Since the two were classmates, Seto explained to Asada how he worried a lot about Okumura being in a different class. Because the catcher tends to be misunderstood by some of his classmates all the time. Needless to say, he knows what's actually going on in the minds of Okumura's classmates. After all, those were his initial thoughts, too, when he became Okumura's classmate for the first time.
"Or maybe it's that! So you're the one bullying them? That won’t do Okumura-shounen! As one of the members of the Seidou baseball team, you must not use your strength to bully the weak." Sawamura whispered once more. His right arm was placed on Okumura's shoulder, and his left arm covered his mouth as he spoke. It's as if the two of them were on the mound planning some tactics to strike the batter out.
Seto laughed again but decided to stop this hilarious conversation. Okumura is now trying his best not to smack the pitcher on the head.
"Senpai, no one's bullying anyone," the boy in black-rimmed glasses decided to join in on the 'secret' conversation. "Koushuu's very quiet when he's in class, you see. I bet some of his classmates are just fascinated to see him talking normally."
Asada nodded as well.
"Oh! Is that so? Thank God you're not being bullied, and you're not the bully as well. Yosh! Let's clear the misunderstanding right now!" Sawamura proudly declared as he faced Okumura's classmates.
"Sawamura-senpai, wai– "
But Okumura's attempt at stopping the pitcher was vain as Sawamura addressed the entire class.
"Listen up, Class 1-A! Okumura-shounen here is a very passionate baseball player. If you want to know more about him, you may want to start with baseball first! And then everything will follow! These two young megane lads here with me," announced the pitcher as he walked towards Asada and Seto and placed both his arms on their shoulders. "…assure you that Okumura will not bite people. While I can definitely understand that he seems like a wild wolf, there's no need for you to be so guarded around him."
Seto and Asada were trying their best not to laugh at this awkward scenario once more. On the other hand, Okumura was emitting an ominous aura towards his not-so-adorable senpai.
"Oh, of course! We'll take note of that! Thank you for your guidance, Sawamura-senpai!" said the girl in glasses.
"No worries! Now, if you'll excuse us. We still have some things to discuss."
Okumura was speechless at the moment as he followed the three outside his room. There were various comments from Okumura's classmates as the four players left.
Sawamura-senpai is a weird one.
Yep! But he's still cool! At least, he's looking out for his kouhais.
I wonder if Okumura would be willing to share some strategies for game-calling? I'm a catcher in our baseball community team.
"Senpai, you're no longer allowed to go to my classroom. If you want to discuss something, meet me at the library," Okumura finally spoke as soon as they stepped outside the room.
"Don't be like that! We're the main battery now! No need to hold back on me!"
"I am holding myself back, but for a different reason," Okumura responded, his menacing aura oozing out again.
Seto and Asada sniggered but tried their best to diffuse the tension between the two by telling them to continue with their meeting.
As stubborn as he was, Sawamura still visited Okumura at least once a week in his classroom. And each time, his class got to see a different side of the catcher. Gradually, Okumura started making conversation with his classmates as they realized that he was an average student. But, of course, his catching skills are still extraordinary.