"First-years, all of you run till breakfast time." The coach looked somewhat visibly annoyed as he turned his back and left the ground. His shades barely concealed his glare at a specific trio.

Few of the second-years were taken back with the sudden running practice for the first-years since this time after introduction is usually free time for first-years to explore the ground and facilities offered by the school. But they did not say anything.

Everyone started to do as ordered by the demon coach.

A few enthusiastic ones like Maezono and Asou started running as fast as they could without any care for pacing of any form.

Sawamura stayed steadily at the middle of the pack, not drawing any attention to himself. He was accompanied by Miyuki and Kuramochi who were running beside him. His mind kept going back to the mysterious senior who had winked at him, wondering who he was.

He yawned.

He already felt a little tired, thanks to inadequate sleep and the taxing strike-out he took from Azuma.

I should really sleep well from now on

Taking the silence as an opportunity, Kuramochi immediately questioned Sawamura about his early morning activities.

"Ahhh. Ahh that… Well I went to look around the ground and there was this one senpai who was really rude and told me to get out. He even called me a kid. I asked him not to be rude I guess."

Sawamura could see Kuramochi grimace showing his disapproval for Sawamura's actions. He did not wish for his roommate to get into trouble and get a bad reputation among seniors this quick.

"I know. I know, okay? I didn't really sleep well yesterday. I was really grumpy because of that."

Kuramochi rolled his eyes.

"He called me a small fly and told me that there is no need to be respectful to a small fly like me."

Kuramochi scowled distastefully hearing that.

"That is really mean. What the hell? Did you let him get away with that?"

"No I did not." Sawamura hesitantly added.

"Then what happened next?"

"Well …" Sawamura could now clearly see how stupid he was to behave the way he did with Azuma. He kept avoiding eye-contact with Kuramochi, not wanting him to look down on him because of his recklessness.

"Dude, what?" Kuramochi asked amused.

Miyuki who was silently following the conversation patted Sawamura on his shoulder as he encouraged him to reveal the big statement Sawamura had made back then.

"You really sounded so cool when you said that to Azuma-senpai. Don't be shy. Tell Kuramochi what you said to Azuma-senpai."

This damn Miyuki. So elated at the chance of embarrassing me.

Sawamura thought feeling annoyed and a bit frustrated. He made a mental note to make plans to get Miyuki in trouble in the future. He eagerly waited for that day.

Kuramochi stared at the pair feeling a bit left out. Like there was some unspoken code between Sawamura and Miyuki that Kuramochi was not a part of.

How are they close already?

He stopped running all together. Sawamura and Miyuki also followed to stand in a huddle.

"Tell me."

Sawamura could feel himself cry on the inside in embarrassment as he answered. He just hoped that Kuramochi won't think that he is an idiot even though he has been told that many times and even acknowledged it to be a part of the truth.

"I might have said something along the lines of "I bet I can strike you out thrice.""

"What? Oh my god. How could you say that to a senior?"

Kuramochi looked more worried for Sawamura than anything else. His face was blank in anticipation.

"Then?"

"Well we ended up having a at-bat against him with coach's permission."

"You must have lost terribly." Kuramochi said as he recalled that Azuma was the batter pros scouts were keeping an eye on.

"No. I won." Sawamura added cheekily, as that was the only good thing that came out of his whole incident.

He looked at his left hand, reminiscing that last off-speed pitch. He could feel the feeling of throwing that change-up still persist. The exhilarating feeling of knowing that pitch was going to go right into the coacher's mitt by itself.

I should consider my change-up mastered then. I want to throw more change-ups like that one.

Kuramochi's eyesbrows rose up in bewilderment. He has not expected that at all. He could tell Sawamura was famous in his middle school years judging by the looks other first-years sent his way during the assembly. But he didn't think he would be this good. He thought about what Sawamura had proclaimed " I am here to become the Ace of Seidou."

He was definitely not playing around in the least

Miyuki quickly added, "Thanks to my clever calls of course."

As much as Sawamura wanted to deny it, he knew it was Miyuki's game-calling that inspired him to throw that change-up in the first place. It is the battery that was efficient, rather than just the pitcher or the catcher.

"Yeah that too." Sawamura actually grinned at Miyuki like a Cheshire cat.

Miyuki's mouth opened a bit at the unexpected warm smile directed towards him. He then realised that he had failed again in teasing Sawamura.

"Hey, you three. Why are you standing here? Run already." Maezono yelled as he passed them only to run ahead of them.

So the running began again and this time it was the trio that was speeding ahead of everyone. Of course with loud yelling from Sawamura Eijun.

The canteen with filled with all three years alike. Most of the second and third years have already finished their meal while the first-years struggled to get past two bowls. Finishing three bowls seemed like an monumental task. Especially being surrounded by scary seniors who yelled at you eat faster and faster.

Of course the trio stuck together. They sat in a straight line. Due to lack of space they were forced to share the table with other seniors. Tetsu, Jun and Tanba were facing them.

"Eat fast you brats." Jun scowled with a special glare directed towards Sawamura.

"Sawamura eat more." Jun scrunched his face.

"Yes Jun-senpai." Sawamura agreed.

The trio were chomping on the rice as fast as they could.

"That's right. Good players should eat more." Tetsu added.

Miyuki put some of his rice on Sawamura's plate while Sawamura was looking at Tetsu. While this went unnoticed by Sawamura, definitely not by Kuramochi who put it right back on Miyuki's plate.

"Eat more." Tetsu said showcasing his deadly aura.

This time Miyuki tried to sneak some in Kuramochi's plate which to his surprise Sawamura caught.

"What are you doing with the rice? Eat already." Jun yelled without any reservation whatsoever.

The trio looked at each other once more before continuing eating rapidly.

"You say something too Tanba" Jun added looking as disagreeable as he usually does.

Tanba slowly said, "Eat more"

"With more force."

"Eat more rice." Tanba tried with the same hesitant voice.

"That is not forceful." Jun yelled.

"Leave me alone." Tanba pleaded with a timid voice.

Jun tsked and then returned to chanting "Eat more." A million times.

Two of the sub-coaches stepped forward and declared loudly.

"We will have you group into your preferred positions to see how well you fare. Assembly in A ground."

The trio said their goodbyes to each other and quickly went to search for their group. Sawamura found Kawakami standing with five others in a distant corner. He quickly went there recalling that Kawakami was a pitcher too.

He tapped on Kawakami's shoulder to get his attention.

"Hey, Kawakami" His lips molded into a warm smile.

"Sawamura." Kawakami gazed at Sawamura in a daze. Still not recovered from Sawamura's smile.

"This is the pitchers' group right?" He asked still smiling.

"Yes." Kawakami answered short not knowing what else to say.

Sawamura examined the rest of the gang as he had only listened to a few introductions clearly. He didn't think there would be this many pitchers.

The pitchers looked back at Sawamura with varying emotions. Some looked at him in awe of the confidence he had displayed before. Some looked annoyed at him thinking he was way too arrogant to talk about being the Ace and that he was definitely underestimating others. One looked at him totally indifferently.

Sawamura nonetheless introduced himself again and the pitchers did the same.

One sub-coach arrived at their location and asked them to come to the bull-pen with him. The sub-coach moved in the direction of the bull-pen. The group followed suit.

It was a really spacious bull-pen indeed. Five pitchers could definitely pitch here at the same time. It was clear that it had been deserted by most due to skill assessment for first-years. There were only three players present in the whole of the bull-pen.

One was a pitcher who was throwing curveballs to his catcher who sat across the room. A curve that swerved beautifully away from the strike-zone, just barely touching it enough to be called strike. It looked magical. Not everyone could throw a curve quite like that.

"Wow"

Sawamura's mouth made a O-shape upon observing the amazing pitch. He was definitely impressed. Having dysfunctional curveball himself, he was sure he could never get his curveball to this level of break. He instantly wondered who this pitcher was.

"Tanaka. Nice curve. If only your fastball was half as good as your curveball, you won't be stuck in the second-string for so long."

Resounding laughter followed.

It was Akira, sitting on a stool in the left-most corner of the bull-pen, just casually annoying his fellow teammates for fun. He had a satisfied smile on his face as he teased the other. He did not realise that the first-years were there already.

"Enough Akira, Coach told you to rest. Go to your room and sleep or something. Don't bug me" The pitcher whose name was supposedly Tanaka said frustrated wishing this torture would end already.

"Oh Tanaka. How can I, the Ace relax when I'm not playing in the game three days from now? I must do my best to support my fellow pitchers who will pitch in my stead." Akira huffed as if Tanaka was an idiot to think otherwise.

"This is not what one would call support. It is more like wrecking your teammate' spirit right before the game with descriptive negative comments."

"Of course not. We all know your spirit is super strong, right?" Again with a playful smile.

"I'm not gonna argue you anymore."

"Hey start pitching already." The catcher interrupted.

"Hey come on. Don't be like that." Akira pouted innocently at Tanaka, ignoring the catcher, Subaru.

The sub-coach decided that it was the perfect moment to make their presence known and intervened.

"Hey you two. Stop arguing. The first-years are here for skill assessment."

Akira's eyes found Sawamura first as he turned his head towards the entrance.

Standing only a metre or two away from him, Sawamura could clearly see this time how little bits of blue were mixed in his forest green eyes. It was a really beautiful colour to say the least. His eyes were blazing with curiosity.

He could tell that Akira was definitely a foreginer or atleast a half-foreginer. The same foresty green eyes winked at him again.

Sawamura turned pink feeling some sort of embarrassment even though he had done nothing at all.

So this is the Ace of Seidou.

He is not what I thought he would be like

While Sawamura was zoning out, the sub-coach asked the other four to pitch leaving Sawamura, Kawakami and Kawashima standing still.

"Hey, you. You are Sawamura right?" Akira said enthusiastically as the target to annoy shifted from Tanaka to Sawamura in a flash.

Having some questions of his own, Sawamura went to stand near the place where Akira was sitting, leaving behind Kawakami.

"Yes."

"Are you alright senpai?" Sawamura was not sure why but he felt like Akira was putting up a façade and pretending to be strong. It certainly did not hurt to ask an injured person if they were alright.

"Awww. I'm fine. What a sweet kohai I have. I like you already."

He winked at him again.

This senpai really likes winking

"None of the third-years asked me, you know." He pouted.

"That's because you told them not to keep asking and annoying you." Tanaka chimed in.

"But still those heartless bastards. Especially Azuma. He deserved what happened this morning for being so mean." Akira laughed a bit reminiscing about Azuma's face after that strike-out.

Suddenly the vibe he emitted turned intimating and intense. Completely different from the friendly vibe he was giving out seconds ago. His green eyes glared back at Sawamura while his face held no expression. Not that it had to when his eyes were speaking volumes that his face never could.

"So Sawamura-kun, I heard that you made a statement in the introduction? Something along the lines of "I will become the Ace"?"

Sawamura could feel a shiver run down his spine but he did not waver or cower away from the pressure he felt in Akira's presence.

Something dormant inside him didn't let him to.

He had not even felt something like this from the best batters he had come across. It was something else entirely. He stared straight back at Akira without any hesitation, trying to deciphering the chilling feeling he felt.

"Yes senpai. I said that I'm here to become the Ace of Seidou."

"Oh really? Does that mean you will coming after me right from the start?" Akira's wicked smile made the whole atmosphere eerie. He looked like a demon with the face of an angel. There was undoubtedly a threat hidden in the seemingly normal question. Threat that promised very uncertain consequences.

"Absolutely. I will chase after you with everything I got." If Akira was darkness, Sawamura was definitely light. His eyes were radiant like a scorching sun threatening to burn everything that came near it. His brightness did not lessen in the least but rather overthrew the eerie atmosphere.

Contrary to the tension engulfing them, Akira laughed, holding his stomach, out of nowhere.

Sawamura blinked.

"You really don't cower do you? Nice eyes you have got there, kohai. I really like people like you." Akira smiled sweetly making Sawamura doubt if he had daydreamed the part in-between.

"Senpai you have a really scary look when you are serious, do you know that?"

"Of course. I know. I intend to make full use of it. " Akira winked like the hundredth time.

"You are really weird senpai." Sawamura laughed naturally at Akira's antics.

"You are weird too. You said you are chasing me and acting all friendly." Akira looked intently at Sawamura.

"But how is that related to this senpai?" His eyebrows rose up a bit in confusion as he wondered about it.

Akira laughed again. Really hard.

"You are really an idiot." Akira answered as though that explains everything.

"I already know that. You don't have to tell me that." Sawamura said pouting.

Even a person I met five minutes ago thinks I'm an idiot

"Sawamura. You are up." The sub-coach called for skill assessment.

Sawamura was dead tired when he came back to his room at eight in the night. He was the first one to enter it. He lay down thinking about the strength assessment.

He had had a dilemma whether to reveal his unfinished pitches or not. In the end he decided to reveal only the six pitches he had used in the junior nationals as the others are too wishy-washy to be called a pitch of their own.

Soon Kuramochi entered, he collapsed face-down right after closing the door.

"Are you okay Kuramochi?" He asked Kuramochi in concern.

No answer.

He moved his heavy body down to where Kuramochi was sitting.

"What happened?"

"I met a demon today." Kuramochi slowly lifted his head, panting hard from excessive activity.

"A demon?" Sawamura was puzzled.

"Yes. A pink-haired demon."

Beginning of Flashback

"All of you will be assigned to a second-year."

"Kuramochi, you are with Kominato."

Kuramochi didn't even have to search for the senior as the pink-haired senior made his way towards Kuramochi and introduced himself.

"I'm Kominato Ryousuke. Second baseman." He extended his hand which Kuramochi gladly accepted. He immediately felt happy that the senior testing him was polite and kind.

"I'm Kuramochi Yoichi, senpai. Pleased to meet you."

"Let's start, shall we?" Kominato asked with an angelic smile. The naïve first-year did not understand what that smile meant. He nodded like a kid would when asked if he would like candy.

The test consisted of Kominato throwing and Kuramochi catching. It was simple. Or so it seemed.

The first three throws were easy to catch.

The fourth one was thrown straight to his chest but the strength of the throw was unexpectedly high. Kuramochi couldn't catch it.

"Sorry" Kuramochi yelled as he picked up the ball.

"I'm throwing it to your chest." His angelic smile was still present.

"Huh?" Kuramochi looked confused.

"Catch it properly. You suck." His angelic smile was still intact. If anything it got wider.

Kuramochi felt like he had been slapped the his face by an angel.

What's up with this person? How can he say that with such a sweet smile?

"Just because it was practice did you expect only easy pitches? You declared that you will be the shortstop very arrogantly in the introduction. I was expecting more. If you usually play this slow then you won't be able to get any outs in a real game."

"You dare to talk big when you are like this. If you cannot see reality clearly, you better look at yourself well. If you cannot handle that, feel free to quit too."

Kominato walked away without looking back.

Kuramochi was left with the harsh reality that he has been trying to hide under his confident exterior.

If you usually play this slow then you won't be able to get any outs in a real game

Kominato's words ringed in his head even though he was all alone.

If you cannot handle that, feel free to quit too

Quit?

There was no way in hell he was quitting after what just happened. He could feel his own inadequacy but that in no way made him think about quitting. If anything it made him more determined to become the best shortstop there is.

If he was too slow, he would catch balls till his hand break. He would will run till his legs wear out. But quitting was not a choice.

You just wait and see you pink-haired demon. I will show you what I can do.

He ran after the pink-haired senior diligently. The senior was just standing in the middle of the ground observing others. He went straight to him in a single dash.

"Senpai please practice with you. I will do whatever it takes to become your partner. I swear it."

Kuramochi said with a determination that could even move mountains if required.

"I will not go easy on you. Can you handle it?" Smile appeared. Kuramochi could tell it was a genuine smile having experienced his other smile a while. It was nonetheless angelic.

"Yes senpai. I will do whatever it takes." Kuramochi straightened and said firmly looking at Kominato.

"Let's get started, shall we?"

"Yes senpai."

"Here you go."

Miss.

"Catch it. You just ran your mouth."

"Sorry."

"Again."

Miss.

"You really suck bad."

"Sorry. Please one more time."

"Here"

Catch.

"Finally. I thought I was going to have to wait forever till you catch one."

"Here you go again."

Miss.

"Sorry."

"Again."

Catch.

"Good. Next."

"Yes senpai."

End of Flashback

"So he made you catch till your legs wore out and you could barely walk back to the dorm?" Sawamura frowned a bit at the harsh training but he did not expect any less from a school like Seidou. He was just surprised that the senior went full-on training on Kuramochi on the very first day.

Kuramochi nodded silently.

Within seconds he was asleep. Right on the floor.

Just as Sawamura about to the lift Kuramochi and put him in his bed, the door bell rang.

Sawamura walked towards the door with a singular thought in his mind.

Who is it?