Rei-san was already waiting for him in the railway station when Sawamura reached there. He was not expecting his teammates to send him off. They had been apologising to him ever since the Ruwaka match ended.

"Don't worry about that. It's not your fault." He told them. "Watch me on the television when I go to Koshien" Sawamura added cheekily with his classic stupid smile. He felt like crying but he remained strong before his teammates.

"Let's go, Rei-san" he said with a smile. Upon reaching Tokyo, Rei-san was going on and on about how Seidou is. How the coach is. How hard practice is. It seemed like an endless stream of instructions that is specifically meant to torture one's soul.

But Sawamura did not care how hard it was. As long as he could go to the nationals again in his high school. His mind was already on to the next goal.

"You know, we have a genius catcher too this year"

"Genius?"

"Yes. Once-in-a-generation kind of genius. Just like you."

Sawamura stilled. He had never thought he was a genius. He was just someone who worked ridiculously hard. Maybe unique in some aspects but definitely not a genius. His recent failure came to the front of his mind.

I'm no genius Rei-san

"You don't realise the potential you have as a pitcher. The pitcher I met that day in the first round shined more than any other pitcher I have seen in my life." Rei-chan said rather seriously.

Beginning of Flashback

It was the hottest day of the year, draining players more than usual. After a bunch of walks and errors from the fielders, somehow the team held itself together and won their first game by two runs. Sawamura's control had been wild that day but he managed to make good use of the three pitches in his possession. He was barely able to walk after pitching nine innings straight.

On his way to his bus, he noticed a figure standing at the corner. A young woman who seemed to be around her mid-20s with glasses on. She approached Sawamura once she spotted him as if she had been waiting for him. She extended her hand to him.

"Sawamura-kun. Nice to meet you. I'm Takashima Rei. A scout from Seidou."

He was shocked. Although she didn't say why she was meeting with him. Her objective was obvious enough for him to understand. He asked her while shaking her hand.

"Seidou? Why is such a powerhouse scouting a nobody like me?

It was evidently the truth. At that point of time, Sawamura's new-found pitches were barely usable to say the least. Neither was his speed any good. He had somewhat good stamina. But that doesn't justify such a thing.

Rei-san replied with a smile, "Because I can see what you already are and what you can become in the future."

End of Flashback

Sawamura was taken back. He was not at all a decent pitcher back then. Not that he is great now. There are many good days but many bad days too. Bad days that take a toll upon him. His control has never been stable. He was very well aware of his weakness. But the fact that Rei-Chan saw the potential in him made him giddy as much as happy.

On entering the Seidou dorm, Rei-chan left him with the words "Do your best, future ace." Sawamura felt a smile creep on his face at that. Shaking his head, he looked at the room allotment sheet that was right in front of his eyes. He was on Room 5 with two seniors and one first year. He found it weird. His room was the only room with four people in it. All the other rooms had three people in it. But he didn't think too much and went directly to his room.

Outside the room, he found a green-haired boy who looked around to be his age. His brown eyes seemed to tremble upon his appearance. The boy looked nervous. He guessed that the boy was a first-year too.

"Hello. Nice to meet you." Sawamura said in his loud enthusiastic voice. "I'm Sawamura Eijun."

"Kuramochi Yoichi" the green-haired boy replied.

"Kuramochi, are you a first-year? Staying in this room?"

"Yes." Said Kuramochi, looking at Sawamura and assessing him.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Sawamura laughed happily after making a friend. His stupid smile as usual but a genuine one. He opened the door only to find a monster staring right back at him. His and Kuramochi's screams filled the night's silence like two owls screeching together. Both of them fell down hard on the concrete floor, hugging each other in fear.

"This is a huge success. Nice Masuko"

Soon the light was turned on. The monster looked more like a huge boy with tomato sauce on his face and less like a zombie in the middle of an apocalypse. The monster spoke, "Welcome to the room."

A senior appeared from behind the monster. He said "Welcome. I'm Katsuda. Third-year. This is second-year Masuko."

Quickly, Sawamura and Kuramochi realised that they were still hugging each other. They immediately let go, dusting their clothes as they were getting up.

Kuramochi began to speak, "'I-"

"I'm Sawamura Eijun. Nice to meet you"

Sawamura talked over Kuramochi without even realising it. An awkward silence followed. Sawamura looked at Kuramochi confused, wondering as to why Kuramochi was not introducing himself. In response, Kuramochi glared at him, looking like he is annoyed with Sawamura for whatever reason. Sawamura was genuinely lost as to why he was angry.

Maybe he is angry because I hugged him. But he hugged me back too?

While Sawamura was lost thinking about the possible reasons of Kuramochi's anger, Kuramochi introduced himself quickly, not to be impolite.

"I'm Kuramochi Yoichi. Please take care of me"

The seniors nodded in unison. The reason for the awkward silence, not lost upon them. The two newbies entered the room, excited as they have never lived alone away from their family.

"This is your first night at the dorm. How about a game night?" Katsuda asked grinning. The first-years responded with a resounding yes and a big smile plastered on their faces, already forgetting their little dispute at the door. It was definitely a long night.

Sleep did not come easily for Sawamura that night. Like all the other nights following his loss against Rukawa Academy. He had lost the bet. He was not able to keep his promise. But somewhere inside him, something told him.

Maybe this is for the best. This way I can compete against him.

Sunshine greeted him first thing in the morning. No matter how late he slept, he cannot seem to stop waking up at around 5:00 AM. There seemed to be some truth in the idea that some habits get ingrained in you so deep that they make up the structure of your identity.

Noticing that the seniors were not in the room, Sawamura wondered if he was supposed to be out too. He didn't listen properly last night when the seniors were talking about assembling time for first-years. He face-palmed immediately.

He then noticed that Kuramochi was fast asleep. With no signs of waking up anytime soon. That seemed reassuring to him.

I guess I'm just early

Knowing that sleep won't come to him anymore, he got ready and went out to see his new ground. He had expected that ground would be large for a school like Seidou. He was not disappointed with what he saw. Many of the seniors were doing batting practice. Some were running laps around the ground.

There was one loud senior who seemed to switch between yelling at other seniors and hitting home-runs like it is a piece of cake. Sawamura was quite impressed by the unknown senior's batting ability. Knowing how phenomenally hard it is to hit a home-run.

After a year of practicing rigorously, I can barely get a decent hit

Suddenly the said senior looked at Sawamura, annoyed as if Sawamura was trying to rob his house. The senior walked towards him in an incredibly fast pace which is even more incredible when you consider his body. More he came closer to Sawamura, more Sawamura realised that the guy looked more like an old man than a high school student.

Finally stopping at an arm's length away from him, the senior inquired sharply, "What the hell are doing here? First-years are not supposed to practice yet."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know that, senpai. I am Sawamura Eijun. Nice to meet you."

"Tsk. I don't care who you are. Were you not listening when your roommates told you when to assemble? You are an hour early. Get out of the field, kid. We are practicing here."

The senior said looking even more annoyed at him. But Sawamura was on his own breaking point. He hated people like this senior who think that the world revolves around them which makes them treat everyone with little or no respect.

"Senpai, I know I'm in the wrong here. But aren't you being a little too rude right now?"

The senior looked so angry. Like someone had asked him if he could break-dance in snow. The fragile threads of his self-control snapped all at once. The senior yelled so hard that all the others stopped whatever they were doing and looked at the commotion.

"Who the hell do you think you are talking to? There is no need to be polite to SMALL FLY LIKE YOU."

Sawamura was well past self-control himself. He couldn't believe how rude the senior was being, just for showing up early.

"Of course, I don't know who you are. But if I have to guess, I will say that you are an middle-aged man than a high school student."

"You, little-"

"And I'm not some small fly. I bet I can strike you out thrice in a row."

Followed by the sounds of bats being dropped, shocked gasps and one unexpected hiccup, a heavy silence ensued in the huge ground. The people on the field could not believe what had just happened. All their thoughts collectively echoed the disaster that was about to occur.

I cannot believe he said that to Azuma-san

Amidst the stunned silence, a carefree laugh resounded throughout the training field. All eyes immediately searched for the source of the noise. The sound that seemed to worsen the worst possible situation even further. The sound of laughter which was rare as a glimpse of comet in the sky in a school like Seidou.

A tall boy leaning against the fence and laughing as if it was the most hilarious thing he had seen in this life. His glasses couldn't hide the tears on his eyes from excessive laughter. His eyes glimmered with amusement, wonder and a bit of anticipation. After what seemed like a millennium but in reality were mere seconds, the boy who had everyone's attention said rather cheekily, pointing his finger at Sawamura.

"Picking a fight with a senior on the very first day. You are sure interesting."