Chapter Text
“STRIKE, GAME SET.”
“AFTER THREE AND A HALF GRUELING HOURS OF RELENTLESS PLAY, SEIDOU HIGH SCHOOL HAS DONE THE IMPOSSIBLE! THEY’VE CLINCHED THE SUMMER KOSHIEN TITLE, TOPPLING THE ONCE UNSTOPPABLE KOMADAI FUJIMAKI, LED BY THEIR ACE PITCHER, SAWAMURA EIJUN!”
They did it. Seidou High had done it. They had won the 91st Summer Koshien. It didn’t really sink in for Eijun until he felt the weight of his teammates pressing against him, huddling together on the mound.
They finally broke apart from the huddle, still gasping and laughing through tears, and began to line up along the field. One by one, they shook hands with Komadai Fujimaki, bowing deeply in respect. The crowd’s cheers washed over them, a tide of voices praising Seidou’s victory.
“Seidou, you did well!”
“Sawamura, you were amazing out there!”
“Furuya, your throws are incredible!”
Eijun’s hands were sticky with sweat and dirt, but he barely noticed. He kept looking at his teammates, seeing their faces streaked with tears and smiles, feeling a mix of disbelief and joy that made his chest ache.
Once the handshakes and bows were done, the team was presented with their medals and trophies and of course, the coveted championship flag. Right after, the organizers started the first lines of the Seidou anthem, and soon everyone joined in, voices shaky but proud. He felt the lyrics vibrate through him, each note echoing the months of practice, the games, the losses, the victories. It was their song, their triumph, and for the first time, it felt real.
When the anthem ended, they gave one last bow to the audience, then slowly made their way back to the dugout. Some players collapsed onto the benches, others leaned against the railings, all still laughing and crying, but the happiness and relief on their faces was clear. As they headed back to their designated hotel, his phone buzzed. He pulled it out and saw a message from a certain catcher he hadn’t expected to hear from.
From: Tanuki Kazuya
>> You really did it, huh? The Koshien title.
>> Congratulations on the win.
He couldn’t help but grin. Even with Miyuki Kazuya’s hectic schedule in his first year as a professional, he had kept up with Seidou’s Koshien progress as they continued to climb higher in the ranks.
To: Tanuki Kazuya
>> OF COURSE! WE PROMISED WE’D WIN IT ALL THIS TIME AROUND AFTER ALL!
“Eijun-kun, quit staring at your phone. You’ll trip on the way up if you keep doing that,” Haruichi said, putting an arm on his back.
“Let him be, Haruichi. I’ll be the first one laughing if the almighty ace of Seidou, who led his team to victory just an hour ago, trips and rolls on the way up to the hotel like his first-year self at Senbatsu,” Kanemaru teased, earning a few chuckles from the nearby third-years.
“AH–MY DARK PAST! WHY’D YOU HAVE TO REMIND ME, KANEMARU!” Eijun groaned, swatting at him but smiling despite himself.
“Sawamura-senpai rolled on the mound during Senbatsu?” murmured a first-year, eyes wide. Snickers spread among Eijun’s generation as they recalled his chaotic debut on the mound during Senbatsu. The memory of his younger self, tumbling during his first pitch after being switched in was both embarrassing and endearing.
Eijun shook his head, a small laugh escaping him despite the embarrassment. He pushed past the teasing, letting the laughter fade as the chatter of his teammates filled the air as they walked towards their designated rooms.
⚾️⚾️⚾️
A few hours had passed since the match. They celebrated, courtesy of Kataoka Kantoku and the other coaches, who treated them to an expensive yakiniku dinner. Despite the exhaustion, Eijun couldn’t seem to sleep, still buzzing with the excitement of actually winning at Koshien.
11:35 PM. The time glowed on his phone as he scrolled through the many congratulatory messages from friends and past opponents, most of which he hadn’t replied to yet (Miyuki’s message being the only exception, though that they didn’t have to know that). He decided he’d respond tomorrow, on the way back.
Not feeling any urge to sleep, he slipped out to the hotel garden, settling onto a bench and letting the weight of the day finally press down on him. For a moment, he let his mind wander, thinking of all the people who had supported him, His Shishou, teammates, friends back at Nagano, the coaches, his family, and of course, Miyuki Kazuya. Each one had played a part in the journey to achieve where he is today.
When he closed his eyes, he felt the space beside him shift slightly. Opening them, he saw Haruichi sliding onto the bench next to him, nudging him lightly.
“Can’t sleep?”
Eijun nodded, a small, tired smile tugging at his lips. “Yeah… I’m still letting it sink in.”
“Same here.”
There was a quiet pause before Haruichi continued. “You know, we’ve been at Koshien every year since our first, except during Aniki’s generation, huh,” he whispered. Eijun stayed still, letting the weight of that truth settle. Since their first-year Spring Koshien, Seidou had consistently made it to both Summer and Spring tournaments afterwards, but not during Tetsu-san’s generation.
“Yeah… I really wish we could’ve taken our previous senpais to Koshien.” Even now, a lingering guilt tugged at him, an ache that he hadn’t fully shaken. He knew it wasn’t entirely his fault, yet he couldn’t help but think of all the “what-ifs,” all the chances missed, and how different things might have been if he was even half as skilled as he is now during his first year.
He was no longer the “I throw fastballs for life” kind of teenager with no control, no fielding experience, and barely any batting sense. He had come so far from his first-year self, every mistake, every failure shaping him into the pitcher he was now. “Sometimes…” Eijun started, his voice quieter than usual.
“Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and fix my mistakes… even shouting at Chris-senpai…” he murmured. His fingers curled slightly against his knees, the memory still stinging more than he liked to admit.
“You shouted at Chris-senpai?” Both of them turned toward the source of the voice and saw the tall pitcher, Furuya Satoru, walking toward them, his expression as blank as ever but his curiosity obvious in the way he slowed his steps.
“GAAH—! FURUYA! DON’T SURPRISE US LIKE THAT. AND, I-IT WAS A MISTAKE, OKAY?!” Eijun immediately flushed. “I didn’t know he was injured at the time. I thought he was just ignoring and underestimating me, so I-” He cut himself off, groaning as he buried his face in his hands. “Ugh, I was such an idiot back then…mumumumumu.”
Furuya blinked, then nodded slowly, as if processing the information. “That does sound like something you’d do.”
“HEY! WHAT’S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!”
Haruichi let out a small laugh, the tension easing as Eijun’s usual loudness returned.
“Anyway!” Eijun huffed, crossing his arms. “There are a lot of mistakes I want to fix. A lot of things I wish I’d done better.” His voice softened slightly. “But I can’t really do that, can I? So I’ll just have to keep moving forward… and make sure I don’t regret anything from here on out.”
For a moment, neither of them spoke. The night air settled around them, quiet but heavy with unspoken thoughts.
“There are things I regret not being able to do too,” Haruichi said after a while, his gaze lowering. “I promised myself that Aniki and I would make it to Koshien together… but I never got to do it.” His grip tightened slightly on the hem of his shirt, the words coming out softer than usual.
Eijun glanced at him, his expression shifting, but before he could say anything
“I also wanted to see how we would’ve done at Koshien with the previous third-years,” Furuya added. His voice was calm, but there was something resolute beneath it. “I wanted to lead them there… with the number one on my back.”
There was a brief silence after that, the weight of their shared regrets hanging in the air.
Then
“HUH?!” Eijun shot to his feet, pointing straight at Furuya. “If there’s anyone leading Tetsu-senpai’s generation to Koshien, it would’ve been me!” His voice rang out loudly, echoing faintly through the quiet garden, just like it had during their first-year introductions.
Furuya stared back at him, unfazed. “No. Me.”
“YOU WISH!”
Haruichi sighed, though there was a small, fond smile on his face as he watched the two start bickering like nothing had changed. Some things really never did.
As they made their way back toward their rooms, Eijun and Furuya continued arguing over who was the better pitcher, their voices rising with each step.
“I had more control!”
“My pitches were faster.”
“SPEED ISN’T EVERYTHING, YOU IDIOT!”
Haruichi trailed behind them, trying, and failing, to rein them in. “Eijun-kun, Furuya-kun, please keep your voices down… you’ll wake everyone up…” But neither of them listened. And as Haruichi watched their backs, their silhouettes overlapping under the dim hallway lights, he couldn’t help but feel a quiet sense of nostalgia.
Just like their first year.