Chapter Text
Sawamura Eijun was a 15-year-old ace pitcher for Akagi Junior High, just entering his third year. He loved his team deeply, although they had never made it past the first round of the group stages. Despite this, the camaraderie with his teammates brought him joy. Without a coach, Eijun had learned most things about baseball on his own, driven by a genuine love for the sport he had played since childhood. He believed he had improved over time, but their last game ended in heartbreak. Just one pitch away from retiring the side, he lost control. His emotions got the better of him—he didn't want to leave his beloved friends without making it to Koshien, the national championship. Instead, he threw a wild pitch. The loss devastated him; he wasn't ready to say goodbye to his team.
One morning, after the first period, Eijun was summoned to the guidance counselor's office. He had seen this happen before—last year, Akio-senpai and others had gone through it. It was time to talk about high school. The truth was, Eijun didn't know which school he wanted to attend, and with his current grades, his options seemed limited. He would either have to start studying seriously or try to earn a baseball scholarship. As these thoughts swirled in his mind, he knocked on the counselor's door and stepped inside.
"Come in and sit, Sawamura," the guidance teacher greeted him.
Eijun nodded, sat down, and replied politely, "Morning, sensei."
"Let's cut to the chase—you're in your third year now. We need to talk about high schools and which ones you've considered," she said.
Eijun admitted he hadn't focused on a specific school yet.
The counselor responded bluntly, "With your grades, I doubt any school would accept you. But you do play baseball, don't you?"
He looked down and nodded. "Yeah, I do. I know my grades aren't great."
She laid out his options clearly: study hard to improve his grades, earn a scholarship, or risk not attending high school at all. Then, she mentioned something unexpected. A scout from Seido High School had been at his last game and expressed interest in him. They wanted him to join their practice from December 1st to 6th.
Eijun's eyes lit up. "Seriously? They want me to join their practice for a week?"
She confirmed it, and without hesitation, he exclaimed, "YES, PLEASE! THAT SOUNDS FUN!"
After thanking her profusely, he skipped out of the office and went home to share the news with his family, who were thrilled for him. He spent an hour studying, then began researching baseball—specifically, southpaw pitchers. That's when he discovered the "moving fastball" and realised that what he thought was a regular fastball actually had movement. It finally made sense why people found it hard to catch his pitches.
In his search, he also came across Narumiya Mei, an exceptional pitcher who became the ace of Inashiro Industrial's team just one month after joining. He learned they had a game the next day and begged his family to let him attend. They agreed.
The next day, Eijun took a train to the stadium. He watched Mei pitch with awe and admiration, inspired to grow stronger and master more than just his moving fastball. Once the game ended, Eijun sprinted after Mei.
"Narumiya Mei, hi, I'm Sawamura Eijun. Please help me improve my pitching," he said, bowing.
Mei chuckled. "Kid, I like you. How old are you?"
"I'm 15, senpai."
"Alright, come to our school. I'll help you improve."
Grateful and overjoyed, Eijun joined Mei and his team. At their practice field, Eijun was stunned—it was a dream setup, built to help athletes reach their best.
He asked Mei, "Is it true you've only been here a month and you're already the ace?"
Mei confirmed it, striking a confident pose.
Eijun eagerly demonstrated his current pitching form and explained what he wanted to fix: his unstable form, lack of pitch control, and limited pitch variety. Mei listened intently and asked to see his pitch. Eijun's ball veered to the right, confirming the movement he had discovered.
"Interesting," Mei said. "You raise your leg high, but your foundation isn't stable."
Eijun then asked to try out a new idea for his form, which he had practised the night before. He explained how he tried transferring strength to his fingertips by creating a "wall" with his right arm and shifting weight with his leg to store and release energy efficiently.
Mei was surprised. "That's one of your ideas? And you think you've got it down already?"
Eijun nodded and demonstrated. Though the catcher missed again, Mei was impressed. He suggested pointing his feet toward home plate. When Eijun tried again, the pitch landed well. Eijun even added his signature leg raise and found it created his best pitch yet.
"It feels really good to have a catcher who can catch and someone to bounce ideas off," Eijun smiled.
Mei asked, "Don't you get advice from your coach?"
Eijun shook his head. "We don't have a coach. My friends only play because I wanted to."
Mei was stunned. Eijun had not only formed the team but had acted as the de facto coach, encouraged his teammates, and handled the pressure of being the ace. He had done it all while trying to have fun and keep team morale high.
"What made you want to improve now?" Mei asked.
With honesty, Eijun admitted his grades were too low for most high schools. His only real shot was through baseball, and after getting the invite from Seido, he didn't want to embarrass himself.
Mei looked at him seriously. "If you want, I'll help you get better so you can show them your potential. You've already got a solid form."
Eijun lit up. "Would you really? That'd be a big help!"
"It'll be tough. Are you okay with that?"
"I am."
Mei gave him a training regimen to alternate daily, asked him to come by every evening at 6 p.m., and even offered to help him study. Eijun eagerly accepted, ready to work hard and chase his dream.
As Eijun got home, he received a text from Mei.
From: Mei
Hey, Sawamura, here are your training regimens:
Regime One:
Barbell squat, dumbbell squat, or sled hack squat: 20
Dumbbell incline bench press: 20
Romanian deadlift: 20
Dumbbell biceps curl: 20
Dumbbell triceps extension or machine pushdown: 20
Seated cable row: 20
Lat pulldown to the front with a wide grip: 20
Reverse crunch: 20
Pull-ups: 20
Regime Two:
Barbell or dumbbell hang clean: 20
Cable wood chop: 20
Cable push-pull: 20
One-arm cable raises (each arm): 20
Medicine ball or dumbbell push press: 20
Medicine ball standing twist with a partner: 20
Box jump march: 20
Vertical jump: 20
Sprints: 20
3 sets each.
I created these for you with help from my coach, so they are reliable.
Also, to improve your pitch control, find a wall and divide it into nine sections like a strike zone. Use your new form and switch between which part you throw at. Aim for 10 pitches in each section, then move on to the next. Try to get 10/10, and when you do, do 20 sprints and then try again since you won't always be in your best condition when pitching.
Research how to grip the baseball for a four-seamer. That is the pitch I want you to learn first. I want you to show me the grips tomorrow, and I will be even more impressed if you can learn how to throw them down the middle.
Oh, and call me Mei instead of Mei-senpai.
See you tomorrow, Eijun.
To: Eijun
After reading Mei's message, Eijun changed the contact name to just "Mei" and went into the garden to set up the wall for the drill.
From: Eijun
Thank you for the regimes. I will try the idea for better control; I've started setting up the wall for the drill. Watch, I'll learn to throw them down the middle and the inside. You'll be surprised.
See you tomorrow, Mei
To: Mei
After replying, Eijun went up to his room to research the grip for a four-seam fastball. He found that the grip involves placing the index and middle fingers across the perpendicular seam of the ball, with the "horseshoe" seam facing the ring finger and the thumb resting underneath on the smooth leather. Once he understood and felt confident with the grip, he finished setting up the wall outside and warmed up his shoulders with exercises he had seen in a video the day before.
Then he began the drill, using the four-seamer grip and pitching at the middle section to test consistency. To his surprise, he hit 10/10 in the middle on his first try. He moved on to the inside section but only managed 3/10, which disappointed him. It took two hours to adjust his mechanics—he realised he needed to relax, focus on his fingertips, and throw as though aiming into the ground to match his new form. These changes helped him hit 10/10.
Just then, another message from Mei came through.
From: Mei
I have a feeling you've been doing the drill this whole time, so do stretches, ice your shoulder, go have dinner, and do some studying. If you need help, call me. And go to bed early so you're rested and ready to show me what you learned.
To: Eijun
Eijun smiled, wondering how Mei already understood him so well despite knowing him for just a few hours.
From: Eijun
How did you know? Alright, I will. I'll probably need help—I don't understand much of the subjects.
To: Mei
Eijun followed Mei's advice. He tidied up, stretched, iced his shoulder, and went to eat dinner.
*At the dinner table*
"So, Ei-chan, how was your day?" his mother asked.
"It was really good. I met Narumiya Mei and asked him to help me improve my pitching, and he agreed. He even gave me tips and a training regimen—and he's going to help me study. I might actually have a chance of improving my grades and securing a scholarship with his help," he said with a smile.
"That's amazing, Ei-chan. By the way, I looked up the school that invited you to their practice. It's a very good school. They're a powerhouse, and they've been to Koshien before—almost made it back several times. Going there could really help you improve," she said.
"To be honest, Mum, I'm scared. What if they think I'm bad? Or I mess up? Or they just don't like me?" he said, looking down at his food.
"They'll like you. Just be yourself and work hard to improve before the training week. You'll do fine."
"Okay. Thanks, Mum. I'm going to study now. Mei-san said he'd help."
As he headed to his room, he texted Mei.
From: Eijun
Hey Mei, do you remember how you offered to help me with my studies? Is that still possible? I looked over the material before your game, but I didn't understand any of it. I'd really appreciate the help.
To: Mei
While waiting for a reply, Eijun sat down at his desk and opened his books. Then his phone buzzed—Mei was calling.
"Hey, Mei," Eijun answered.
"Hey, Eijun. Yes, I can help. What subject are you studying?"
"Maths. I really don't understand it at all."
"Alright, let's go through it together."