Chapter 01 : Hiroto Suzuki

-A small clinic in the north of Tokyo-

"Okay, now, try to balance your body with your injured foot. See if you still feel a pain."

A boy with glasses on his face did as the doctor said, raised one of his feet while balancing his body carefully. The woman next to him tucked her glass nervously, waiting for the good news from the boys. After several seconds passed, the boys finally let out a small smile and gave a thumbs up.

"No pain at all!"

And just as he said that everyone in the clinic let out a deep breath, relieved at his word.

"Congratulations, Suzuki-kun!" The doctor also smiles. "Now I could say that you are 90 % recovered from your injury. I give you the green light for the normal training of your team again. But my advice, take it slowly to let your body adjust, and do a lot of strengthening ankle training."

"Thank you for your guidance, Genta-sensei." The boy, Suzuki Hiroto, bowed respectfully. "I will be careful so that I don't need to be here again in the future."

The doctor, Genta Kawajima snorted in disbelief at his words.

"Don't make a promise you cannot fulfill, Kid. I have been receiving a lot of players from your school saying the same just to come back in the next six months or a year. There is no way a bunch of hot-blooded teenagers like you lot would be able to play safely."

"Eh…" Hiroto could only rub his back sheepishly.

"Just remember my words. Your life didn't end after you graduated from high school. It would be the beginning of your life. You have to consider what you wanted to be, and how much it would hurt your future if you keep getting injured."

Hiroto nodded solemnly, knowing what the doctor said was right.

"Don't worry, Sensei." The woman who accompanied him, Rei Takashima speaks. "Kataoka-sensei and I had already thought about holding a special class to raise the awareness of injuries for our players. Too many players had to bury their dreams because of their recklessness, and we want to reduce the numbers."

"Good." Genta-sensei nodded in agreement. "I wouldn't mind if your school called me over to talk about this. You know, for the medical perspective?"

"Thank you, Sensei." Seeing Rei rose from her seat, Hiroto followed after that and bowed once again. "I will deliver your words to Kataoka-sensei. For now, we will take the leave. Have a good day."

-------------------------

"So, ready to go back?"

"Not yet." Hiroto shook his head, adjusted the seatbelt to make himself comfortable. "Rei-san, can you drop me at the usual place? I need to check them up first."

Rei's gaze softened for a second before she nodded. She drove him for a few minutes until they reached a small ramen shop on the edge of the road. Hiroto didn't ask for permission as he jumped out of the car immediately with an excited face.

"Granpa! Granma! I am home!"

Two figures, an old man and woman perked up from behind the stall, having a big grin at each other faces when they saw Hiroto coming.

"Here is my boy! How are you doing? Fully recovered? Ouch! What are you doing, woman! Stop it!"

"It is you who needs to stop thinking about baseball all the time!" The woman scolded the man with a wooden spoon in her hand. "Stop corrupting a young mind with your silly baseball!"

"Hey, baseball is not silly! It is a life!"

"That's why I call it silly!"

Hiroto just chuckled at the two old couple bantering at each other, taking a seat in front of the counter while watching the show. Those two are his adopted grandparents, Gen and Kaya Agawa. They both are retired teachers and settled down as this ramen stall owner, spending their retirement days with him and their own granddaughter, Akari Agawa.

Hiroto has a deep affection for the old couple. Even though they didn't have to, they raised him like he was one of their own for as long as he could remember, not wanting to get anything back from him. As for his biological parents, well, they both could go to hell, as they abandoned him in the middle of the street with just a blanket and a birth certificate when he was a baby. If not for the kindness of this old couple, he was sure he wouldn't be alive right now.

After bantering with each other for another minute, they finally noticed that Hiroto was not alone and looked at each other sheepishly.

"Oh, Rei-sensei is also here too? Come on! Don't just stand outside! What do you want to eat?"

"Shio ramen for me, please."

Rei took a seat beside Hiroto, giving Kaya a small smile as she watched the couple fondly. Whenever Hiroto asked permission to leave the school, she would always be the one who accompanied him. That's why, she is familiar with his guardians.

"One Shio ramen coming up! What about you, Hiro-chan?"

Hiroto looked at Rei first, asking for permission from the woman next to him. He is an athlete now, so what he ate every day had to be observed carefully to keep his body on top performance. Seeing Rei's nod, his face brightened before he turned around at his grandma again.

"I want one bowl of Tonkotsu ramen, Grandma!"

"Sure! One Shio ramen and one Tonkotsu ramen, coming up!"

Hiroto watched as his grandma moved flawlessly in the kitchen, preparing the two ramen for them. His grandpa takes a seat next to him silently before asking,

"So, what did the doctor say? The last time you told Akari-chan on the phone, she said you were almost 70 percent recovered, right?"

They both were old people who were awkward in the face of technology, so they decided not to have a phone and let their grandchildren deliver the news on their own.

"It's good." Hiroto gives a thumbs up. "I would be able to do a normal practice again. If things went as I thought, I would be able to play with the second team against the newcomer."

"Really?" Seeing the nods of confirmation from Rei, his grandfather laughed heartily. "Nice! When you go to the Koushien later, I would bring your grandma and little sister there to support you, so you better work hard, boy!"

Rei and Hiroto looked at each other for a few seconds before they both smiled, not wanting to correct the old man. Even though Seido is a powerhouse high school, they haven't reached the national stage in the last seven years due to the lack of capable pitchers to lead them. He had told his grandpa about this once but was dismissed nonchalantly as his grandpa still insisted Seido's lost against Inashiro Industrial in the final last year was due to him getting injured in the middle of the game.

"Hiro-chan, don't just think about baseball." His grandma spoke softly as she served two bowls of ramen for him and Rei. "You are still young, so you have to explore more. Your grade is still good, right?"

"Of course." Hiroto puffed his chest proudly. "Still the first place out of all the students in my year. Just like you said, I also need a backup plan if I can't play baseball professionally."

"Bah! That's nonsense!" His grandpa butted in. "Of course, you will go to the Major! And when that time comes, this stall will be decorated in the color of the team that chose you!"

"Don't listen to your silly grandpa." His grandma rolled her eyes. "It is good that you already had a backup plan and still maintain your rank. Being a good student will open a lot of opportunities for you in the future."

"Yes, Grandma."

The next few minutes were spent in silence, only the sound of Hiroto and Rei eating their ramen could be heard on the stall. Hiroto enjoyed his ramen while watching his grandparents doing their own things. After finishing his bowl, he put down his chopstick and asked,

"Grandma, where is Akari-chan?"

"Oh, your little sister?" His grandma replied without looking at him. "She is still at her school, of course. Did you forget that this is the first day of the new term?"

"Ahh… Yeah, I forgot about that.."

His grandma just giggled a little at his sheepish look.

"Well, she is very excited about this day, so she will probably come back late. Just text her if you want to meet up, she will never reject your request."

After pondering for a second, Hiroto shook his head.

"Nah, let her enjoy her first day of high school. I will call her later."

His grandma stopped her doing and turned her head to Hiroto, looking at him softly.

"You know that if you called her, she would fly to you even to the edge of the world, right? The girl adores you so much, there is no way she would ever reject you."

"I know." Hiroto nodded softly. "But I don't want to take advantage of her. She should enjoy her time too."

"Well, if you say so…"

They exchanged words for another few minutes until the sky started to get dark. After looking at her watch, Rei stood up first and signaling Hiroto that it was time to go.

"Grandpa, Grandma, I have to go first." Hiroto followed Rei's movement, stood up from his seat and hugged his grandma. "I will come again when the training is a bit loose. I will also text Akari-chan. Stay healthy and happy for me?"

"Of course." His grandma pulled him into his arm, holding him tight while rubbing his back. "You also keep your health, okay? Don't be too reckless. Don't forget to eat regularly, and don't forget to call your sister too."

"Um."

"Just so you know, whatever you are doing, as long as it was not a crime, we will always support you." His grandpa also patted his back. "And don't forget what your grandma said. Stay healthy and don't forget to call your sister."

"Yes, Grandpa."

After reminding Hiroto of a few things, both his grandpa and grandma turned around and bowed to Rei.

"Rei-san, Hiroto is a sensible boy, but he is still a boy. I hope you can take care of him."

"Don't worry, Sir." Rei tucked her glasses. "Even if you don't say it, we will take care of him. He is our valuable player."

His grandpa and grandma looked at each other for a moment before they both smiled and said, "Thank you. Hiro-chan is lucky to join Seido."

Rei smirked a little at that. "It was us who were lucky to have him."

A couple of minutes later, Hiroto and Rei were back in the car again to go back to the school. Rei took a glance at Hiroto from the rearview mirror before saying, "Don't worry. They will not go anywhere."

After several seconds, Hiroto nodded slightly. "I know. Just feeling a bit sad. But don't worry. It wouldn't affect my performance."

Rei sighed in exasperation. For all of Hiroto's charming personality, he sure is a grandma boy. She was curious if his fangirls saw him in this state, what would they say? She giggled silently, knowing the answer to her question.

'They probably fall more into him, saying they love a guy who puts his family first.'

She shook her head slightly, putting her concentration back into the road.

"Speaking of the team, is there any good newcomer?" Hiroto suddenly asked. Rei thought for a second before replying, "Good? Only time will tell. But there are several interesting players there."

"Oh?" Hiroto raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Yeah." Rei nodded. "We have a pair of pitcher and batter who won the national tournament with their middle school. Ryousuke-kun's little brother is also joining the team, and Ryousuke-kun insists that his little brother is way more talented than him."

"Really?"

"Well, this is his brother, so Ryousuke-kun is probably a little bit biased. But I wouldn't ignore his words. After I checked the statistics, his batting average touched 0.750. If he could maintain his performance like that, Kataoka-sensei would have no hesitation to put him in the first team."

Hiroto nodded, couldn't agree more with what Rei said. Even though the intensity of middle school games is way different than the high school games, to be able to produce a 0.750 batting average means he managed to hit at least 3 times every 4 chances he stood on the batter box. That was the number he would expect from his captain, Yuuki Tetsuya who is the best hitter on the team.

"What about the other players?"

After pondering for about another minute, a smirk formed on Rei's face.

"Well, there is one interesting pitcher I poached from Nagano. Even though his performance was just average, he had the potential to be a member of the first team. Also, I kinda like him a bit."

"Oh?" Now, Hiroto is curious. For Rei to like a player, he must have some unique temperament there.

"Well, he had a gut to speak what he wanted and never back down from a challenge." After saying that, laughter suddenly burst from Rei. "Do you know that the first time I accompanied him from Nagano, he challenged Azuma-kun?"

"Really?!"

"Yeah. After hearing the harsh critique Azuma-kun threw at Kawakami-kun, he decided to challenge him straightaway. Miyuki-kun being Miyuki-kun decided to amuse him, and they struck Azuma-kun out after two fouls without getting a ball."

"Wow…." Hiroto was speechless for a second before he laughed out loud. "He sure has a gut! I cannot wait for the game against the first year!"