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Amid the cheers of hundreds in Koshien Stadium, Sawamura Eijun felt empty. His ears couldn’t hear the crowd’s roar. His eyes were fixed on only one thing—Furuya Satoru, standing on the pitcher’s mound at Koshien. In the final match against Komadai Fujimaki. One more strike, and they would win.
Their main catcher, Miyuki Kazuya, crouched behind home plate, glove ready to receive Furuya’s pitch. Seidou’s monster, who had dominated the headlines since his first-year debut.
Just one more pitch.
They would win Koshien.
And Sawamura felt hollow as the umpire’s booming shout echoed across the stadium, ending the two-hour-long game.
“STRIKE!!!”
“SEIDOU HIGH SCHOOL WINS KOSHIEN!! LED BY THEIR PHENOMENAL ACE, FURUYA SATORU, SEIDOU HIGH TAKES THE VICTORY WITH A FINAL SCORE OF 5–4! WHAT AN ABSOLUTELY SPECTA—”
Sawamura didn’t hear the rest of the announcer’s words. He had already turned away, walking out of Koshien Stadium with tears streaming down his face.
If only… his left arm hadn’t been injured.
_____
Baseball had always been the lifeblood of Sawamura Eijun. Sawamura lived for baseball. And baseball was the only thing that kept him alive.
He wasn’t exactly sure when he fell in love with the sport. Maybe it was the first time he watched a game on TV. Maybe it was when he saw other kids playing. Or maybe... it was the moment his hand first touched a baseball. Sawamura didn’t know. All he knew was that he couldn’t live without playing baseball.
That’s why, when he finally received the ace number in his second year, Sawamura was overjoyed. After all the hard work and sweat he had poured in, he finally earned the number 1 jersey—taking it from Furuya Satoru.
But what Sawamura didn’t expect was that his happiness would last less than a month. Because on a Saturday, exactly one week before the summer tournament was set to begin, the event that would change his life forever happened.
_____
Flashback Juli
“WHAHAHAH, SAWAMURA EIJUN CAN’T WAIT TO GET A NEW GLOVE!!"
Sawamura Eijun’s voice echoed through the Tokyo shopping district, drawing glances from passersby. But that didn’t bother him at all—his heart was bursting with happiness. Just imagine, he had finally become the ace. The ace of Seidou. It felt like a dream come true.
“SHUT UP, SAWAMURA! YOU’RE MAKING US THE CENTER OF ATTENTION!” Kuramochi snapped, wrapping an arm around Sawamura’s neck and putting him in one of his signature cheetah-style chokeholds.
“AKHH, MOCHI-SENPAI! PLEASE HAVE MERCY ON POOR SAWAMURA EIJUN!” Sawamura cried out, struggling to free himself from Kuramochi’s grip.
Miyuki, Haruichi, Furuya, and Okumura just stood silently, watching the ridiculous scene unfold. In truth, Kuramochi choking Sawamura was drawing even *more* attention than before. With Kuramochi’s delinquent-like appearance, some people even looked worried for Sawamura.
“Enough. Be quiet already! We’re here to shop, not cause a scene,” Kuramochi said, finally releasing Sawamura.
“But Mochi-senpai, I’m just so excited! I’m getting a new glove! A glove that’s going to take us to Koshien!” Sawamura said with sparkling eyes.
“You’re awfully confident about us making it to Koshien, huh, Sawamura?” Miyuki smirked, casually slinging an arm around his neck.
“Of course, Tanuki! This summer, we’re definitely going to Koshien!” Sawamura replied confidently.
“You better not be lying, Baka,” Kuramochi warned, cracking his knuckles. “If you are, I’ll choke you until you die.”
Sawamura trembled
“We should get moving, senpai. Or we’ll be out late,” Haruichi finally spoke up. They’d all been standing around on the side of the street.
“ALRIGHT, LET’S GO!” Sawamura pointed across the road—to a massive store in central Tokyo, famous for selling the most complete range of sports equipment.
“Try not to be too loud, senpai. Or we might get kicked out,” Okumura muttered dryly.
“WHAT DID YOU SAY, YOU WOLF BOY?! NO ONE’S KICKING OUT AN ACE LIKE ME!”
“They’ll kick you out because you look like someone who doesn’t have any money,” Miyuki chimed in with a sly grin.
“ACK, YOU JERK! I HAVE A LOT OF MONEY, TANUKI!”
“So, can you buy me—”
“IN YOUR DREAMS, FURUYA!”
Sawamura shoved Miyuki’s arm off him, pouting.
“BYE! SAWAMURA EIJUN IS OFF TO FIND HIS NEW GLOVE!” he declared with renewed enthusiasm. He charged ahead of the group. The pedestrian light was red, but in his excitement, he didn’t stop to check left or right.
If only he could turn back time—maybe then Sawamura would have been more careful.
But it was too late. In the next few seconds, he felt his body flying through the air. He was flung several meters before crashing hard onto the asphalt. His vision blurred.
And the last thing he heard were the screams of his teammates.
“SAWAMURAA!!!”
“SENPAI!!!”
_____
His body ached. Every cell in him screamed with pain. Sawamura couldn’t move a single finger.
With great effort, he opened his eyes—and was instantly greeted by a blindingly bright, white room.
‘Where am I?’
“Senpai! You’re awake?! I’ll go get the doctor right away!”
Sawamura weakly glanced at Okumura, who was frantically pressing the emergency nurse button. It didn’t take long before a doctor and a nurse entered the room.
“We’ll need to check him out. Please step outside,” the doctor instructed Okumura.
Sawamura saw the reluctance on Okumura’s face. He clearly didn’t want to leave. But he had no choice. And so, with visible hesitation, he stepped out of the room, leaving Sawamura with the medical team.
_____
“You won’t be able to play baseball again. The injury to your arm is too severe. Even with two years of therapy, your arm won’t return to the way it was. It’s too risky for you to keep pitching.”
Those words played on loop in Sawamura’s head like a broken record. He was silent . Just stared up at the light above him.
This couldn’t be real, right?
This had to be a dream, right?
Someone, tell him this is just a prank!
He… he had just become the ace!
There’s no way this is happening!
“Sawamura.” The soft voice and the sound of the door opening didn’t even make him flinch. He ignored everyone who entered his room. He knew… he knew they were all looking at him with sympathy. And Sawamura didn’t want to see that.
“Sawamura, are you… are you okay?” Miyuki asked gently. He knew it was a stupid question—hell, even he couldn’t believe those words came out of his mouth, spoken in a tone so soft and unsure. Miyuki wasn’t the type to care too much about others’ feelings. He usually didn’t think that deeply. But now… now he felt something that could only be described as sympathy.
Though even that word felt far too small to capture what he was feeling now.
“What are you saying, Miyuki?! Bakamura is obviously fine!” Kuramochi shouted at him, glaring. “Have you ever seen Bakamura not be okay?! He’s always be an idoit! Thats why he's Bakamura!"
“Eijun…” Haruichi whispered softly.
“Sawamura-senpai, do you need something?” Okumura asked with concern in his voice. Sawamura hadn’t moved. Not even looked at them.
“Hey! Bakamura! Are you even listening to us?!” Kuramochi called out again.
“Sawamura’s gone deaf,” Furuya muttered under his breath, get a sharp glare from Haruichi.
“Hey, Bakamura! Chris-senpai is on his way. Don’t be like this! he will be sad!” Kuramochi snapped.
But Sawamura didn’t respond.
“Sawamura-senpai?” Okumura tried again, worry growing heavier.
“HOI, SAWAMURA!” Kuramochi start touching him now, afraid that maybe the boy had died with his eyes open, since he hadn’t reacted at all.
Kuramochi gently shook him. “At least say something, damn it!”
“Sawamu—” Miyuki’s voice was suddenly cut off by a faint whisper.
“I…”
That single word from Sawamura was followed by tears, slowly falling from the corners of his eyes. Everyone in the room froze. None of them had ever seen Sawamura cry before. Sawamura is always to be bright like a sun.
“I… I’m not okay, senpai.” His voice trembled as sobs began to shake his shoulders. He clutched the sheets beneath him, unable to hold back anymore.
“How could I be okay… when my dream, my purpose in life, was ripped away from me?”
Yes… Sawamura was truly broken.